Providing Global Public Goods: The role for the G20

Event Type
Book presentation

Location / Date
Bonn, 24.01.2017

German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

The German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) welcomedInge Kaul to present her recently published book on Global Public Goods (GPGs) and to discuss the concept‘s role in the light of the German G20 presidency.

Inge Kaul first presented the general concept of GPGs and its challenges. Here she focused on the more normative, progressive approaches asking what institutional innovations and adjustments are needed to better address the questions raised by the GPG perspective. Due to its institutional strength, Inge Kaul suggests that the G20 could be the right context in which to build up a new architecture of international cooperation integrating cooperation in GPG provision and development cooperation (see presentation for more details).

Commenting on the keynote, Stephan Klingebielsuggested focusing more on GPGs in debates on international cooperation and global challenges. Especially it might be useful to get a better understanding on those areas where the provision works. He also underscored the relevance of understanding the role of rising powers for GPG provision. Regarding the G20, he conceptualized the G20 as a possible case of club governance, making it possibly more effective in finding solutions to the GPG provision, but at the same time raising questions on acceptance and legitimacy of decisions.

Petra Gümplová, future fellow of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research, placed the GPG concept in a more general frame of global commons, justice and natural resources. She stresses the notion of GPGs as a matter of justice and the importance of fair distribution. This clashes with the understanding of national sovereignty as exclusive which enables free-riding on parts of GPGs. International law just provides one principle of natural GPGs, the ‘common heritage of humankind’ which only addresses extra-territorial GPGs. Therefore, the concept of sovereignty should be redefined and institutional innovation should be fostered.

Hinweis

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