DEFENCE STUDIES

Defence Studies

Defence Studies

World Governance Index

World governance is a new field of study and requires the greatest possible amount of contributions. To make sure progress is made, to get the best odds for going in the right direction, it needs to be evaluated, especially over time. In other words, it is imperative to see how it evolves. This is why we felt it was necessary to study the possibility of developing a "World Governance Indicator" (WGI). Not to be in tune with the current indicator fashion, but to get a better grasp of the problems involved and follow their evolution with sharper tools.

The index developed here constitutes a first in World Governance. Like any other prototype or first model, this WGI is most certainly perfectible; it is a tool limited, like most indicators of this type, by a number of elements, starting with the availability of the data and, to varying degrees, by the inevitable subjectivity of its inventors. All the same, made up of a series of indicators and sub-indicators, it offers a relatively precise, overall view of world governance. Over time, it will make it possible to grasp the evolution of things. The WGI was designed with a strictly scientific goal in mind, with no ulterior political motives. Renaud François, who designed it, built on his important experience on the field, as well as on the conceptual know-how he had already put to work for the peace indicators he developed a few years ago with the collaboration of Arnaud Blin (François, 2008).

The following domains, in the form of indicators and composite indexes, were selected to achieve the development of the WGI:

Peace and Security

Rule of Law

Human Rights and Participation

Sustainable Development and

Human Development

The concept of indicator or index is highly controversial. The fact is that indicators, including those developed by the most reputable agencies such as the World Bank, are often exploited for questionable ends. Moreover, regardless of how indicators are used, how they are designed and developed should also be viewed with much caution, given the unreliability of the data on which they are based and the sometimes dubious motivations of the institutions that develop them. Despite the many flaws inherent to the batteries of indicators in all categories, indicators can be used wisely. To do so, intentions should be honest and expectations humble. Otherwise, insofar as many actors are willing to develop indicators or have an interest in doing so, it seems preferable to support the development of serious indicators rather than letting more-or-less questionable institutions develop relatively unreliable indicators. These were the grounds for our deciding to commission the first draft of a world-governance index, the first objective of which was to see if it could be of any use. A first model has been developed in 2008-09 by Lieutenant Colonel Renaud François. It is work in progress requiring much more work and thinking, in particular to develop transnational indicators that can go beyond national data, practically the only kind of data available at the ...