Howto Run the World: Charting a Course to the next Renaissance | Parag Khanna

In his new book, Parag Khanna, Director of the Global Governance Initiative at the New America Foundation and author of “The Second World”, seeks to answer how we can deal with global challenges in a more effective way in the years to come. In merely 214 pages, Khanna covers a vast array of challenges – from climate change, nuclear proliferation, poverty, human rights to the Middle East Conflict to the disputes in Kashmir, Iran and Afghanistan. As a natural consequence, some of his analyses seem a bit rushed (for example, his thoughts on nuclear proliferation are limited to just a few pages). Yet Khanna’s aim is not to engage in profound historical analysis; rather, the book can be understood as a smart brainstorming session on how to tackle the world’s most urgent problems. Academics will frown at his approach as Khanna’s assertions are not based on empirical research, yet he is certainly courageous for approaching big issues in a sweeping way.

Similar to Khanna’s previous book, How to Run the World is well-written, and a lot of his ideas are interesting and seem worth further consideration. For example, Khanna argues that aside from combating Somali pirates, more needs to be done to reduce illegal fishing in the region, which has led to the problem in the first place. In addition, instead of imposing futile sanctions against Iran, he advocated “flooding” the country with “contacts through commerce, media, and diplomatic channels that would force greater transparency on all its activities.” The author is also right to point out that private sector actors will undoubtedly play a key role in global governance, although his prediction that large corporations will soon issue their own passports for employees, with pre-negiotiated visa-free access to countries, seems exaggerated. Leia Mais

O Segundo Mundo: impérios e influências na nova ordem global | Parag Khanna

Até uns poucos anos atrás, o mundo era dividido, para algumas pessoas, em três categorias. Haveria o Primeiro Mundo, formado pelos países capitalistas desenvolvidos; o Segundo, constituído pelos países do bloco soviético, e o Terceiro, que agruparia toda a parte mais pobre e subdesenvolvida do planeta. Tal categorização era, com certeza, problemática, pois reunia países de forma arbitrária e nem sempre razoável.

O principal problema, com certeza, era a caracterização de Terceiro Mundo, que agrupava, num único bloco, países em vias de desenvolvimento com outros mergulhados em pobreza extrema. Surgiram daí idéias de criar uma categoria de “Quarto Mundo” para reunir estes últimos, mas tal proposta não foi em frente. De qualquer modo, com o fim do bloco soviético, esta maneira de ver o mundo ruiu e outras maneiras de dividir os povos e os países segundo seu desenvolvimento econômico e social surgiram. Leia Mais