Globalization and Social Governance in Europe and the US

Roundtable 4, November 19/20, 1998, Brussels, Belgium

Globalization has many faces on the international stage. The growth in foreign direct investment, the boom in modern communication technologies, or the tendencies of regional political and economic integration are all related to the same phenomenon. But globalization also has a domestic countenance because it is starting to revolutionize the social fabric of societies. Based on different models of society and government, European and American societies pursue different strategies in shaping globalization "at home". Summary

21.11.1998 · Improving Responsiveness

Introductory papers

Globalization: one world, two variations
by Kenan Patrick Jarboe, Progressive Policy Institute, Washington, DC
Kenan Jarboe analyzes two approaches of regarding the changes coming along with economic globalization: globalization in its late-industrial age form and globalization in the early-information era variant. Each approach has different implications for the organizational forms of government, society or the economy.

Globalization and Social Governance in Europe
by Mario Telo, Free University of Brussels
The paper by Mario Telo deals with globalization as a phenomenon of the retreat of the state. From a European point of view, globalization can be analyzed as regionalization. Telo discusses the process of European integration as a process of supranational regulation and analyzes its benefits and costs in terms of governance.

Governance in a Post-Interdependent World
by Wolfgang Reinicke, the World Bank, the Brookings Institution, Washington, DC
Wolfgang Reinicke presents a concept of global public policy. According to the principle of horizontal subsidiarity non-state actors should - together with state actors - provide public goods irrespective of national borders.

Concluding papers

Howard Rosen, Minority Staff, Joint Economic Committee, US Congress
Rosen reflects particularly on the roles of economic efficiency and growth for economic and social performance.

Stephan Bierling, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Munich
Bierling's conclusions deal mainly with different perceptions of globalization and the varying approaches Europeans and Americans pursue in dealing with it.

Discussion papers

The Future of Labor Relations - Options and Strategies
Contributions by representatives of institutions of labor relations

Oliver Wieck, Federation of German Industries, Bonn
Bernadette Tesch-Segol, Euro-Fiet , Brussels
Marino Marcich, National Association of Manufacturers, Washington, D.C
Jürgen Hoffmann, Reiner Hoffmann, European Trade Union Institute, Brussels
David Smith, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Washington, D.C.
Linda Ewing, International Union of Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), Detroit

Welfare and Education - The Momentum for Reform
Contributions by experts on welfare and education

Guliano Bonoli, University of Bath
Lynne Chisholm, DG XXII (Education, Training, Youth), European Commission, Brussels
John Clark, Hudson Institute, Indiana

Further Statements/Comments

Wolfgang Buecherl, Center for Applied Policy Research
Responsive Governance in a Globalizing World
This paper argues that by building regional associations and involving private and local actors into decision making and implementation democratic nation states can reinvent legitimate political action.

Gary Geipel, Hudson Institute
Geipel lines out why national governance over social policy and social standards will endure.

Kristen Sukalac, Philipp Morris Institute, Brussels
Sukalac reflects on the role of civil society and the American model of society in a global economy.

Mariàngels Fortuny i Corredo, International Labor Office
In her paper Mariàngels Fortuny i Corredo argues that in spite of globalization individual countries still have a lot of means of shaping labor markets.

Agnieszka Pawlowska, University of Lublin, Poland
Agnieszka Pawlowska deals with the round table topic from the point of view of Poland, a country which has only recently been exposed to the global economy.

Brian Murphy, Co-Director, European Union Center of the University System of Georgia, US
This paper presents an analysis of Social Governance in a transatlantic context.

Jonas Tallberg, Lund University, Sweden
In this paper, Jonas Tallberg explains why in his view the capacity of countries to cope with and benefit from globalization varies depending on domestic social and economic institutions and structures. He also outlines to what extent regional integration moderates and reinforces adjustment pressure.

Frédérique Sachwald, French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), Paris
Sachwald argues that in a global economy national and international institutions can provide a more secure and predictable environment. They can lower the costs of globalization by fostering change and shielding individuals from some of its harsher requirements.

Wolfgang Pape, Forward Studies Unit of the European Commission, Brussels: From Globalization to Omnilateralism - A European View. After the age of bilateralism has faded away with the Cold War, there is a time for creating omnilateralism which takes into account influences from all participating societies and actors.