Review of Anne-Marie Slaughter (2004) - The Real New World Order

Anne-Marie Slaughter argues that globalization has transformed world government from “hierarchies to networks, from centralized compulsion to voluntary association” (Slaughter, 2004). Essentially, these changes have resulted in a deficit, as the transfer of power from state to nonstate actors does not always equal out.

Essentially, the deficit has occurred as a result of globalization in which hierarchies no longer exist, therefore regulatory power has diminished. Furthermore, participation in an agreement, or submission to government without governance has resulted as the power of enforcement does not lie within any one authority. This results in a participatory deficit as states can choose to opt-in or opt-out.

The transfer of power, albeit uneven, Slaughter argues is not the state,

“disappearing, it is disaggregating into its separate, functionally distinct parts. These parts—courts, regulatory agencies, executives, and even legislatures—are networking with their counterparts abroad, creating a dense web of relations that constitutes a new, transgovernmental order.” (Slaughter, 2004).

This also creates a problem, as Slaughter argues, “private power is still no substitute for state power” (Slaughter, 2004).

In order to solve the deficit, Slaughter proposes “transgovernmental cooperation” which, through shared knowledge, will provide a deliberative equality. This equality would stem from the sharing of information, deliberation of such information to be mutually agreeable to all parties, and therefore the most sensible way to fix the participatory and governance power deficit.

Slaughter, A. (2004). The real new world order. Foreign Affairs, 76 (5), 183-197. Retrieved on March 15, 2010 from http://web.ebscohost.com.library.norwich.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=2&hid=12&sid=84e8e4e7-da1c-4346-b46e-d05d3e8b6b48%40sessionmgr10