1. Jean-Marc Coicaud Professor of Law and Global Affairs Director of the Division of Global Affairs

2.  Among Nations  Within Nations

8. Terms of the UN’s Ambiguity Towards Democracy  On the one hand: A strong commitment of the UN to some of the values and principles at the core of democracy.  Both within and among nations. This is eminently the case when it comes to the UN commitment to human rights.

9.  On the other hand such UN commitment to democratic values and principles (human rights) has very strong limitations  This generic tension is an illustration of the overall ambiguity of the UN towards democracy

10. More specifically the tensions and limitations can be illustrated at three levels:  Institutional  Normative  Operational

11.  UN Charter  Membership  General Assembly vs. Security Council  The Exclusivity of the Security Council

12.  United Nations Charter:  We the People vs. Governments

13.  Membership:  Democracy Preferred but not Required

14.  General Assembly vs. Security Council:  Universality vs. Select Few  Symbolic vs. Executive Power

15.  On the one hand significant normative and legal developments in favor of key democratic values and principles in the fields of  Human Rights  International Treaties: Social, Economic, Cultural, Political Rights  Rule of Law

16. This Evolution is Illustrated and Enables the Move from Absolute Sovereignty to Conditional Sovereignty  Humanitarian Interventions  Human Security  Responsibility to protect

17.  On the Other Hand, International Distribution of Power Overrides the International Rule of Law  National Interest vs. International Interest  Self-Defense vs. Collective Security

18. In the End, at the International Level There are Moral Obligations but No Legal Obligations. Illustrative of this is:  Convention for the Prevention and Punishment for the Crime of Genocide  International Treaties  Responsibility to Protect

19.  International Interventions in the 1990s  International Interventions in the 2000s

20.  Peacekeeping Operations in the 1990s  Desire to Defend Civilians and End Crises  At the same time very limited  Somalia  Bosnia  Kosovo  Worst case scenario, Rwanda

21.  International Interventions in the 2000s  Limited Commitment in Libya  No Commitment in Syria

22.  Reforming the Institutions  Reforming the Global System  Reforming what it is to be Human

23. Reforming Institutions  In the UN Context  Reforming the Security Council  Creating a UN People Assembly with true legislative power (see the work of Thomas Franck for example)

24. Reforming the Global System  Possible Models:  Jürgen Habermas: World Domestic Policy  David Held: Global Democracy  Jean-Marc Coicaud: Moving from Global Norms to Global Policy

25. Challenges and Crises  Crisis of Political Representation and Participation  National Level  International Level  Global Economic Crisis  Financialization of the Economy  Gap Between the Wealthy and the Poor  Growth Model?

26. In Order to Overcome Challenges and Crises Requires:  Thinking about Economic and Political Models that Generate more Economic and Political Integration  Within Nations  Among Nations  Move from Global Western-Centric Models to Wide, Open, Inclusive, and Integrated Global Models

27. Reforming How to be Human: The Self, The Other, and The World  18 th Century Social Reform Connected the Political with the Human  The solution is not purely institutional and political but also about who we are, who we can be, and who we ought to be

28.  Democracy is about Promoting:  Individual Agency  Social Cooperation  National Level  International Level  Beyond Material Poverty and Spiritual Poverty

29.  As They Say: “Winter Is Coming”  Ways to Prepare: Two Paradigms for the Future

30. Ronald Reagan Paradigm “In our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity.…I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world.”

31. Master Shifu Paradigm “Anything is Possible if you have Inner Peace”

32. In order to achieve peace and democracy we should have one eye on the stars to see whether or not Martians are coming, and one eye looking within.