Foreword

The Helsinki Process on Globalization and Democracy is a major initiative launched by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs to promote more equitable and effective global governance. It is divided into a high-level Helsinki Group, co-chaired by the Finnish and Tanzanian foreign ministers, and three Track Groups that deal, respectively, with the new methods of global problem solving, selected aspects of the global economy, and human security. This phase of the Helsinki Process is planned to culminate in the second Helsinki Conference on Global Governance in September 2005. For more information on the process, see www.helsinkiprocess.fi.

The purpose of this collection is to provide a brief overview of different commissions, processes and initiatives related to global governance. We have included in this paper projects that have been initiated by governments as well as initiatives made by civil society and business organisations over the period of the last twenty years. By necessity, we have had to be selective in choosing the objects of inquiry. Therefore, some relevant initiatives and institutions may have been left out. This survey is divided into two parts. The fi rst part contains an assessment of past commissions and other efforts in global governance, while the second one is an overview of on-going global governance processes. The authors of individual surveys have made an effort to capture the political conditions in which the process was started, the membership, the methods and results of the work. For obvious reasons, our descriptions and conclusions are incomplete, as we are writing from the outside, they may lack relevant information and insights.

If you have any comments or suggestions regarding this paper that you would like to share with the Helsinki Process Secretariat, please feel free to contact us (maruan.elkrekshi@helsinki.fi).

Helsinki, November 26, 2003
Raimo Väyrynen
Program Director
Helsinki Process on Globalization and Democracy