All-Encompassing World Government with No Escape: A Totalitarian Regime Exerting Control Over Every Nation
The world is witnessing a significant shift in the realm of global governance with the adoption of the "Pact for the Future" during the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024. This international agreement aims to revitalize the multilateral system, addressing global challenges such as international peace, security, sustainable development, science and technology, and transforming global governance itself.
The Pact is grounded in a renewed vision of multilateralism that embraces the rule of law, sovereign equality, and addresses historical injustices like colonialism. It emphasizes redress and adaptation in international law to better serve the global South and ensure equitable self-determination.
Since 1995, global governance plans have evolved through periodic major UN initiatives and summits focused on adapting the international system to contemporary issues. In 2021, UN Secretary-General António Guterres introduced the "Our Common Agenda" report, proposing sweeping reforms to enhance global cooperation, including in health and digital governance.
The 2024 Summit of the Future and the resulting Pact represent a culmination of longstanding efforts to make the UN system more fit-for-purpose, especially in the face of multipolar geopolitical realities and increasing challenges such as climate change, displacement, and technology governance.
To operationalize the Pact, the UN launched the UN80 Initiative in 2025, which aims to improve UN efficiency and effectiveness through mandate reviews, structural reforms, and program realignments. This initiative complements the Pact’s goals by making the UN more agile, cost-effective, and outcome-oriented despite significant budgetary constraints and political challenges.
Peace operations, a cornerstone of UN multilateral action, are undergoing review and adaptation under the Pact for the Future due to the erosion of post-Cold War consensus frameworks, rising geopolitical fragmentation, and diverging member state views on mandates and deployment.
However, not everyone agrees on the necessity of global governance. Some critics question its role in managing problems such as trade flows and transcultural misunderstanding. The Pact for the Future lists human rights, equity, poverty and sustainable development, the environment, and peace and security as areas of common concern.
The concept of global governance is a logical extension of the epistemic break ushered in by early modernity, the Scientific Revolution, and the Enlightenment, as suggested by Michel Foucault's account of the emergence of the state in early modernity. Machiavelli's advice was meant for rulers of new principalities, not those maintaining the status quo.
The biggest risk to humanity, as observed by Peter Thiel in a recent interview, is a totalitarian world government that cannot be escaped. Global governance enthusiasts may overlook the risks it presents, such as the imposition of groupthink and the potential for a totalitarian world government.
In conclusion, the Pact for the Future marks a significant step forward in the evolution of global governance, aiming to create a more inclusive, justice-aware, and adaptive multilateral system. However, it is crucial to remain vigilant about the unique risks that come with this project, ensuring that global governance serves the interests of all humanity, not just a select few.
