The final day of the Conceptualising Global Democracy workshop in Cairo saw another eight hours of intensive conversations. Papers were tabled from China, India, Kenya and Canada. Lead discussants heralded from governments, NGOs, political parties and trade unions in the Czech Republic, Fiji, Latvia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Peru and Russia. Jessica Byron, BGD convener from the Caribbean, led a discussion of general themes to open the day. Jan Aart Scholte, BGD convener from Western Europe, led a winding-up discussion at the end of the day.
The first of the day’s paper sessions discussed a submission by Ma Ben and Xu Jiajun on a Chinese conception of global democracy. The second session, based on a paper by Ramjee Singh, examined the relationship of global democracy to world government as well as the transcendence of nationalism. The third session, based on a paper by Regina Mwatha Karega, considered the relationship between global democracy and gender equity, drawing insights from the politics of gender justice in Kenya. The final paper discussion session, on a contribution from Melissa Williams, examined concepts of global democracy from the perspective of changing notions of citizenship.
The Conceptualising Global Democracy workshop closed with an hour-long discussion of overall findings and suggestions that had emerged from the twenty hours of proceedings. The main themes included:
- the undemocratic nature of currently dominant forms of globalisation
- the politics of defining global democracy
- the crucial links between concepts and practice
- the comprehensive quality of democracy as a way of life
- cultural diversity and its negotiation in the process of conceptualising global democracy
- the plurality of peoples (national and non-national) that are encompassed in global democracy
- the interlinkage of global democracy with democracy in regional, national, local and household spheres
- the need for accelerated citizen learning on conceptualising global democracy
These points and more will be incorporated in a policy brief on the CGD workshop, to be issued in several weeks’ time.
The policy brief will be available on our website in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
Read more about the Conceptualising Global Democracy workshop:
- Conceptualising Global Democracy Workshop [1]
- Summary of Day 1 [2]
- Summary of Day 2 [3]
- Participant’s comments on Global Democracy [4]
- After the workshop – The Next Steps [5]