Globalisation has blurred the distinction between internal and external affairs for both developing and developed countries. The current global crises – financial, climate, food, global inequality, conflict and terrorism – show that domestic policies are insufficient to secure the well-being of a country’s population. A series of articles in the latest issue of The Broker magazine (click also here and here) consider whether this could result in a profound reshuffling of administrative power relations within countries. Foreign affairs ministries may be forced to hand over responsibilities – and budgets – to other ministries. At the same time, the global balance of power is being irrevocably altered by the emergence of several new powers. The Broker maps the efforts of a number of donor countries to formulate coherent, “whole of government” policies that will ensure they can handle rapidly changing global circumstances. It considers if the implementation of new policies and cooperation at national and international levels will be restricted by donors’ national self-interests or if they will also take the interests of the global poor to heart.
February 19, 2011
