Global Civics

Book excerpt: The simple yet challenging goal of this book is to deliberate the legitimacy, and advance the feasibility, of an important new concept—the notion of "global civics." We cannot achieve the international cooperation that is needed for a globalizing and interdependent century without embracing and implementing this important concept. The first section of Global Civics is a presentation of the overall idea itself; the second section consists of diverse assessments from around the world of the concept and where it currently stands. The third section discusses various options for a global civics curriculum. Praise for the Global Civics Program "I agree with Hakan Altinay that in order to navigate our global interdependence, we need processes where we all think through our own responsibilities toward other fellow humans and discuss our answers with our peers. A conversation about a global civics is indeed needed, and university campuses are ideal venues for these conversations to start. We should enter this conversation with an open mind, and not insist on any particular point of view. The process is the key, and we should not wait any longer to start it." —Martti Ahtisaari, 2008 Nobel Peace Laureate "The growing interconnectivity among people across the world is nurturing the realization that we are all part of a global community. This sense of interdependence, commitment to shared universal values, and solidarity among peoples across the world can be channeled to build enlightened and democratic global governance in the interests of all. I hope that universities and think tanks around the world will deploy their significant reservoirs of knowledge and creativity to develop platforms to enable students to study and debate these issues. This project is a contribution toward that goal and I look forward to following it closely." — Kofi Annan, Former Secretary General of the United Nations, 2001 Nobel Peace Laureate