Global democracy is an umbrella concept that aims to improve the democratic quality of international politics. Its core idea is that individuals deserve roughly equal say in decision-making processes to the extent that they are governed by institutions beyond the state. It also entails a commitment to making such decision-making more inclusive and deliberative by giving NGOs, youth groups, epistemic communities, and business organizations access to sites of international governance. It thus seeks to address the gap between individual rule-takers and transnational rule-makers, which is often referred to as a ‘democratic deficit’.
Proponents of global democracy offer a range of intrinsic and instrumental arguments. Intrinsic claims, often linked to cosmopolitanism, emphasize the value of equality, autonomy, and non-domination as ends in themselves. They thus provide a moral basis for pursuing democracy beyond borders.
Others see it as a necessary condition for achieving sustainable development, human rights, and ecological stability. This justifies democratizing the global economy and ensuring that global institutions are legitimate and accountable. In particular, this justifies expanding the democratic governance of supply chain management.
Still others argue that democracies are ‘worn out’ and need to be refreshed with new energies, especially in light of recent crises such as the coronavirus pandemic, the financial crisis, and resurgent populist right-wing movements. They therefore seek to recast democracy as a way of revitalizing the global economy, increasing social cohesion and peace, and reasserting public control over economic and political decisions.
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