World Government

World Government, concept of a centralized global political organization and a common rule of law that would create international order and promote peace. Ideas about world government date back to the vision of a universal empire described by the Italian writer Dante Alighieri in his 14th-century treatise on monarchy. In the 17th century, English philosopher Thomas Hobbes argued that human beings must subjugate themselves to a single set of laws and a single sovereign power in order for everyone to live together peaceably. Other early theorists of international law and international organization include 17th-century Dutch statesman Hugo Grotius and 18th-century philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau of France and Immanuel Kant of Germany.

In the 20th century, experiences with global war gave rise to a passionate commitment to the idea of world government. After World War I ended in 1918, United States President Woodrow Wilson worked to create the League of Nations, an association of nations committed to principles of self-determination, collective security, nonaggression, and arms reduction. Wilson called for an end to relations between nations based upon a balance of power. He proposed instead that nations act together according to common principles and ideals embodied by the League of Nations. Opponents of the League of Nations within the U.S. Congress refused to ratify American involvement in the organization. They argued that the United States had no business involving itself in the affairs of distant nations. They also worried that the League’s provisions for taking action against aggressors might compel the United States to fight in wars that ran counter to the interests of the nation. In the absence of support from the United States, the League failed to acquire the strength and prestige needed to mediate international conflict effectively.

The concept of world government gained new support at the end of World War II in 1945 with the formation of the United Nations (UN). During the 1940s, the most prominent advocates of world government—including German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell, and American educator Robert Maynard Hutchins—helped to organize one-world organizations, such as the United World Federalists. At conferences held by these organizations, members drafted constitutions for a world government and debated about the powers such a government should have and how it would be created and maintained. In general, advocates of world government argue for international control of military force, especially nuclear weapons, and for the power to arbitrate disputes between nations and enforce resolutions to these conflicts. Critics dismiss the idea of world government as an impractical dream. They claim that a world government would require enormous administrative and coercive powers to enforce its will. Inevitably, such a government would destroy the independence of nations and the freedom of individuals. Many American politicians, including presidential candidates Patrick Buchanan and Ross Perot, strongly oppose international agreements that affect national sovereignty in such areas as the environment, trade, and finance.

Despite these concerns, the end of the Cold War has produced a movement toward international cooperation on both a regional and global scale. Multinational agreements and organizations represent the willingness of nations to sacrifice a degree of sovereignty and autonomy for the benefits of cooperation. Examples include the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the European Union (EU). In addition, the UN has assumed a more central role in world affairs since the end of the Cold War.