June 29, 2003
Yikes
So, a little background. I work with international non-governmental organizations that have an interest in policy developments around the world. I also subscribe to the Global Development Briefing, which gives an excellent weekly round-up of developments in nations around the world AND the World Bank, IMF and other mega-players on the scene. This past week, the briefing included a mention of a new watchdog organization: www.NGOWatch.org (you can paste that into your browser), which is primarily funded by the American Enterprise Institute and the Federalist Society, two pretty far-right organizations. An article here gives more background, and I'm going to quote a bit:
The groups prefer a world order based on "global governance" and the rule of international law to one that is based on "democratic sovereignty," where nation-states whose governments are subject to the vote of the people are the highest authority. In this quest, they are aided by UN agencies, which see in international NGOs and the global civil society they claim to represent an "alternative form of legitimacy beyond democracy," Anderson said.
"If you think about it, of course this is a left-wing program," added Rabkin. "The whole enterprise of global governance is going to appeal more to the parties of the left ... If it is global, it is anti-national," he said, at one point noting that the original notion of a nongovernmental organization was a "Stalinist concept."
Yowzas! Gee, I'm pretty sure that international agreements are pretty good things. We'll have to keep an eye on this one and see what comes out.