'Might is right' is passé. A bright future needs a global governance initiative

Editor's note: Ankit Prasad is a CGTN biz commentator. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

Should we be surprised 2026 didn't even last one week before witnessing the latest blow to post-WW2 multilateralism and the diplomatic courtesy of restraint?

After a brief festive interlude following last year's theme of unilateral tariffs, sanctions and trade-wars, we now seem to be diving headlong into a spell of unilateral military action, covetous glances, and forcible regime change.

"Might is right"; "my way or the highway"; "he who wields the stick owns the cows"—insert any relevant phrase from a language of your choice—the idioms are mounting with each passing day, and a new bout of unreasonableness, bullying, open threats to sovereignty, and disrespect-laced rants are always around the corner.

In a true test of their mettle, frameworks that usually react with alacrity to maintain their pre-eminence are unable to show anything more than "concern," while those that are normally quick to grandstand on morality are pretending to look the other way, likely wondering if they’ll be on the receiving end next.

To put it mildly, this is school-ground behaviour playing out at the global stage, and it lays bare the vulnerabilities and inadequacies of an international system that was largely formulated 'of, by and for' one country and its once allies. Analogies abound, but in sporting terms, it is the equivalent of one player pulling out a club and chasing after teammates, opponents, referees and organizers alike demanding to be given a world champion trophy despite it being a friendly contest!

The world deserves—and in many cases desperately needs—so much better.

Because while meetings will be held in the next days to carve up the future of Venezuela's estimated 300+ billion barrels of crude potential and the takeover of Greenland, the world faces more pressing real problems and evolving challenges. Climate change is proving to be a genie that we can't agree on putting back into the bottle; economic inequalities that have festered for decades are showing signs of deepening due to technological asymmetry; armed conflicts are breaking out at increasing frequency in all corners of the world; nuclear non-proliferation remains an existential risk; SDG targets are lagging woefully behind; financial scam operations are agglomerating into giant multinational industries; economic uncertainty is causing unemployment and hardship while supply-chain disruptions weigh down global growth... to name a few. To that list, we can also seemingly now add a return of thinly-veiled imperialism, colonialism and old-fashioned land-grabs.

At the time of writing, news is coming through that the US is pulling out of another 66 global organizations. Causes that will face setbacks as a result of this latest withdrawal include climate, labor, migration, education, culture, science, and others. Simultaneously, it says it will increase its military budget from $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion. Read together, it basically sounds like—why foster cooperation when you can force obeisance?

Unfortunately for those who espouse such fancies, Trump's idea of "peace through strength" is not acceptable to the rest of the world, particularly to the Global South. It is not acceptable to the vast majority of the world's countries—many of whom have already been shortchanged by a multilateral order that refuses to treat all countries and people alike, and is riddled with flagrant hypocrisy and double-standards, a kafkaesque bureaucracy plagued by institution capturing, elitist agendas, inability to ensure security, arbitrary vetos, and entirely too much representation in terms of endowments (power & money) and not enough weightage to a sovereign equality or a people-oriented structure.

It is in large part due to the increasingly obvious shortcomings of this system that in the 80 years of the United Nations, numerous other groupings, bodies, blocs, forums, clique, alliances, agencies, organizations and institutions have mushroomed. And to be sure, in the present climate, one doesn’t have to read too far into the United Nations Charter to see where values aren’t being upheld: Many would say the deviation begins with the opening three words "We the people...," which may not necessarily be 'MAGA' compliant.

What the world deserves—and in many cases desperately needs—is an effective, acceptable and steadfast model of global governance to strengthen the United Nations and align it with 21^st century needs as it approaches its centenary, for which the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) first proposed by China at the groundbreaking 2025 SCO Summit in Tianjin lays the foundation for.

The GGI commits to five core concepts:

(i) Sovereign equality, where all nations, irrespective of size, strength, wealth and influence have their sovereignty and dignity respected.

(ii) The international rule of law, which must be applied equally and uniformly.

(iii) Multilateralism, practiced primarily at the UN, as opposed to unilateralism as well as discriminatory and exclusionary arrangements.

(iv) People-centered approach, by seeking improvement through reform in order to advance common interests.

(v) Real actions, wherein root causes and symptoms are addressed to find sustainable solutions.

Seen together, reform as proposed by the GGI has the potential to, above all else, restore faith among member countries and their populations that the global framework is indeed capable of ensuring stability and certainty to the extent possible. At the very least, we must avoid repeating historical mistakes, and remain capable of unitedly facing up to the challenges of the present in order to venture boldly forth. 

After all, in many ways, humanity is just getting started: 125 years ago we barely had the transistor radio, and now we have entered an era of AI and embodied intelligence. And this can be said of countless modern marvels. It would be a disservice to future generations to squander the unimaginable wonders that are to come in haphazard and selfish pursuit of the bounties of ages long past.