English Articles

These are my english articles:

  1. The WTO & the Issue of Deeper Integration
    (August 1999) With the extension from the GATT to WTO a lot was said about social and environmental dumping. This discussion related to the issue of deeper integration or is it better to work with one issue international governmental organizations? International organizations, like the ILO, and UDHR, have traditionally worked on social issues on the global level. The WTO does the same for trade. Many countries sign WTO agreements, but are lacking in commitment to agreements centered around 'moral' issues like human rights issues and environmental norms. This calls for deeper integration in which non-trade values are taken into account in trade negotiations. This can also prevent a 'race to the bottom'. Deeper integration also poses some risks, like protectionism in disguise or the strengthening of the power of those countries that are already in a position to determine the international rules and regimes. To avoid the above named risks, some claim it is better to refrain from deeper integration and leave these issues to specialized intergovernmental organizations. To overcome some of the weak spots in this 'one issue per IGO' model, we should enrich it with the mechanism of best practice and the model of new governance.
  2. Globalization and the social fabric
    (Castejo, 5 august 1998) Globalization is one of the 'modernities' of our time. Globalization makes the world shrink and alters our idea about time and space. Since time and space are basic notions in our lives, we can expect that globalization will have a great impact on both the individual, the community and the polity in the years to come. In a globalized world the main question will be on how to make this changed world a humane place to live in. To reach this goal the market mechanism and economic values are not enough. Values like equity need to be guaranteed by systems like global regimes and regulations. One very hopeful development in this respect is the rise of a global civil society with strong self-regulating capacities. Governments, firms and people should invest more in these new global structures, so problems associated with globalization, like refugees and unsustainable development, can be dealt with.
  3. Earth Charter Introduction (First draft)
    This document has been written as a 'forword' to the Earth Charter. This Charter is a proposal for a system of global ethics consisting of the well known human rights and less formalized principles for ecological, social and political sustainable development with both of rights and responsibilities. The Earth Charter tries to tell people how they can live together in a sustainable way in an era of globalization.
  4. The dynamics of globalization
    (Tilburg, 26 November 1998)
    Globalization is about two prime movers (globalization by and of technology; globalization by and of ideology). Globalization is also about two types of consequences (consequences in terms of the democratic, social, environmental and security deficit because of less territorial borders; consequences as rebound effects in terms of attitudes and new institutions rebelling against globalization). This article introduces new concepts for studying globalization, namely the four deficits. It is a sequel to earlier publications and offers a further deepening of the study of globalization processes.
  5. Nation state and democracy in the globalizing world
    (Tilburg, 26 November 1998)
    This article is the second part of a paper presented at a Tilburg University seminar that deals with the challenge globalization poses for national states. In the last 350 years nation states in the West have developed as the dominant territorial actors. States becameas autonomous and sovereign actors within a limited area. The idea of the nation state was so strong, that it was even 'exported' to the former colonies of Western countries, resulting in an enormous growth of the number of states in the world. Processes of globalization are effecting the capacity of nation states to govern though. In this article Ruud Lubbers claims that the state is losing governance-capacity, but is also changing its role. This is the consequence of the participation of nation states in a much more complex and varied governance-constellation. International treaties, and now also courts, limit the sovereignity of national states, but also enable states to remain a strong capacity to govern. Next to intergovernmental structures, we can also observe the growth of new governance structures, existing of societal actors which pursue different social values. We notice a new symbiosis of government, business and civil society in which societal values are realized in all three segments.
  6. New Media, Governance and Democracy
    (Washington D.C., 23 - 25 October 1997)
    New media are interactive, decentral, loosely integrated systems of information and communication technologies via which many messages in vision, sound, movement and touch can be transported with high speed across vast distances. They can be powerful instruments of societal change for the better or the worse. For the better, since new media can make political decision-making more transparent or educate people. For the worse, since new media, driven by market forces, sometimes are only interested in the spreading of market relevant information, like enter- or infotainment. For this reason new media can be the defenders or the enemies of the Freedom of speech and expression, the Freedom to worship God, the Freedom from need and the Freedom from want that were formulated by president Roosevelt.
  7. Governance in an Era of Globalization
    (Paper for the Club of Rome Annual Meeting Vienna, 26-27 november 1999 )
    When did globalization actually start?. According to Malcolm Waters, the word global is 400 years old. The concept of globalization is much younger. It was coined in the 1960s, but it took till the 80s before it became used more often. In the 90s globalization became a buzzword and scientists recognized the significance of the concept.