ABSTRACT
What different kinds or styles of government – what different solutions to the problem of government – exist in the world today? With the defeat of fascism and demise of Soviet communism, it was once thought that the Westphalian law of nations and Euro-American representative government would prevail as global norms. We now see illiberal authoritarian versions of representative government. From another civilisational background, there’s the Sino-centric one-party model of government. And there are quasi-states that fall short of the test for international recognition. Absolute monarchy and theocracy still exist, but are now exceptions. And indigenous movements for self-determination produce innovative proposals for government. The forms of government are diverse, but too often the practice of government becomes detached from people’s needs, controlled by elites, and structurally violent and coercive – hence the growth of political distrust. This book doesn’t prescribe one model of government for all. Instead, it recognises a diversity of models and hence sees the need for international toleration and collaboration.
