Global Civics Responsibilities and Rights in an Interdependent World

"We are experiencing unprecedented levels of global connectivity and interdependence. 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 the university campuses are ideal venues for these conversations to start." --Martii Ahtisaari, 2008 Nobel Peace Laureate This thoughtful book debates civics in a universal context. It clearly illustrates that we cannot achieve the cooperation that is needed for a globalizing century without developing some form of "global civics." It will always be necessary for citizens and nations to understand costs and benefits. Self-interest will remain an integral component of national policies. It neither should nor can be the only mechanism at work, however. For international cooperation to succeed in our increasingly interdependent world, our perception of worldwide connection and solidarity has to deepen, and our sense of being part of a global community has to strengthen. At times, the sharing that is implicit in any community has to extend beyond national borders. Global Civics reveals how to make that happen. The book's first section makes the case for global civics. The second section presents global perspectives on the question of global civics, including international feedback from public life, academia, and NGOs. The third section starts the all-important discussion of how to build an effective curriculum for global civics, so that institutions of higher learning throughout the world can teach it. As Martii Ahtisaari points out above, institutions of learning must take a leading role in advancing that agenda.

Hakan Altinay is a nonresident senior fellow in Global Economy and Development at the Brookings Institution. Previously he served as executive director of the Open Society Foundation-Turkey and was a World Fellow at Yale University.