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Building a New System of Global Governance

Formerly "Building a World Federation." Explore practical solutions to global challenges through a global system of governance inspired by Bahá’í teachings.

Social Transformation
Duration
7 weeks
Weekly Study
4-6 HOURS
Dates
Oct 4-Nov 21
Register By
October 9, 2023

As humanity passes through stages of collective growth and moves toward integration and unity, it finds itself caught in the thick of many painful and seemingly intractable challenges that mark a turbulent adolescence--crises such as the Covid-19 global pandemic, climate change, economic recession, proliferation of nuclear weapons, gross human-rights atrocities, and mismanagement of critical natural resources. In Building a New System of Global Governance, we will examine how we can solve these and similar problems using ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s advice offered a century ago about establishing collective decision-making and implementing institutions that can and should evolve into a world federation of nation-states.

We will also explore the linkages between the creation of a new system of global governance and Bahá'u'lláh's promised Lesser Peace relying on recent guidance from the Universal House of Justice that illuminates this subject. In addition, we will explore the lessons we can usefully glean from the American experience of establishing a federation as well as from Europe’s ongoing experiment as it moves toward deeper integration. Finally, we will learn how to respond effectively to skeptics who argue that creating a global federation is a pipe-dream because nations will never be willing to cede sovereignty, and we will equip ourselves with ways to allay fears that such a move will lead to an abusive world government that is so excessively centralized that it will not heed the voices of diverse populations and minorities and will trample upon their rights.


Sovaida's books on Amazon

Building a World Federation: The Key to Resolving Our Global Crises (Kindle $9, Pbk $9.95)

Bridge to Global Governance: Tackling Climate Change, Energy Distribution, and Nuclear Proliferation (Kindle $10, Pbk $19)

The Alchemy of Peace: 6 Essential Shifts in Mindsets and Habits to Achieve World Peace (Kindle $9, Pbk $9.49)


Watch 2021 Building a New System of Global Governance promo video below

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Topics
What will you learn?
You will learn
Learning Objectives: To understand and be able to explain:
1) The basic Bahá'í principles and blueprint that pertain to a new system of global governance fit for purpose for the 21st century and beyond and the ways our current system including the United Nations falls short.
2) The model of federalism offered by the United States;
3) The need to balance over-centralization and autonomy, and the rights of the minority versus the majority;
4) How we convince nations to forego sovereignty in certain areas of common concern using the example of European incremental integration;
5) How and why a global federation would solve the pandemic, the world financial crisis and the problems presented by destructive behavior of rogue states whether through territorial aggression, human rights abuses or the use of weapons of mass destruction;
At the end of the course, you will be able to explain your understanding through devotionals, special research or artistic projects, or presentations to persons in your area.
Meet Your Faculty
teacher
Sovaida Ma'ani Ewing, LLM
Director, Center for Peace and Global Governance (CPGG)

My passion for correlating the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith with the urgent needs of our planet was born when, as a teenager, I first came across this quote by Bahá’u’lláh: “Be anxiously concerned with the needs of the age ye live in, and center your deliberations on its exigencies... See Faculty Bio

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