What does it mean?

At present, widespread global poverty and deep global inequality generate highly uneven opportunities for people to have a say regarding the global challenges that deeply shape their lives. How could global resources be spread more evenly, thereby promoting better possibilities of global democratic involvement for all? That is the core question of the Structural Redistribution for Global Democracy (SRGD) project of the Building Global Democracy (BGD) programme.

More specifically, the SRGD project explores how creative and feasible changes in governance of the global economy could generate more equitable distributions of world resources.

How are we going to do it?

BGD is commissioning 10 studies of innovative moves to change the principles and rules of the global economic order in democracy-enhancing directions. Such studies address subjects such as alternative global currencies, brain drain compensation, carbon funds, creative commons licences, deconsumption, equitable tourism, fair trade, financial transaction taxes, global environmental refugees, global competition policies, grassroots savings schemes, internationalised domain names, solidarity levies on air travel, statistical innovations such as a global Gini coefficient, tax justice, and universal basic income. Comparative analysis of what has and has not worked in such initiatives can promote more effective future change.

Reflecting BGD’s innovative methodology, the studies are undertaken by action-oriented researchers with diverse regional, cultural, sectoral, disciplinary and ideological perspectives. Moreover, with a concern to interrelate knowledge and policy, SRGD work always involves practitioners from civil society, commercial, media and official circles.

What will the project achieve?

The SRGD project aims to:

• increase conceptual clarity regarding equitable resource distribution in global politics
   
• raise awareness of creative ways to counter arbitrary material inequality in global politics
   
• generate proposals to advance progressive global redistribution
   
• raise capacities of practitioners and researchers to address global (re)distribution
   
• strengthen networks for the promotion of equitable distribution in the global economy
   

How will our findings be shared?

 It is provisionally intended that the workshop for the SRGD project will be held in South Africa in 2012. Following the workshop various presentations and publications on structural redistribution for global democracy will be produced.