(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
In its No. 28, Ny Tid has a longer article on democracy and federalism in a global perspective. The Young Left has long been a champion of a world democracy, a world parliament and that every single person's voice should have a say, also on the global level. There are major tasks that today do not stop at national borders. These are challenges we cannot solve within the framework of the traditional nation state. Close international cooperation is required here. This can be resolved through a world parliament that has clear statutory political restrictions. Only overarching global issues related to the environment, security, trade and distribution policy should be within the scope of this action. In addition, human rights must be enshrined as a global law, under the supervision of a global court.
Conservative and socialist forces often stand in the way of liberal thought and the will to establish new solutions. The Conservatives would like to doubt that the nation-state will fight against all problems, even though it has repeatedly failed in its efforts to find solutions or fulfill voluntary obligations. Socialists tend to stick their heads in the sand as soon as they talk about supranationalism, and take the lead in the anti-movement rather than finding solutions to challenges. As liberals, I believe that elected officials should make a difference, even at a global level!
Today we see small steps on the road to a world parliament. There is great support for the UN as a body and a common meeting place. A proposal to remove the UN would have been met with outcry, so it is understood that it is important to have a common global arena that meets common global challenges. But the question of how this meeting place should develop to handle challenges better is usually met with silence. We must have visions for what we want with this meeting place and what tasks will lie there, but a world parliament is not something that comes into place overnight with a decision. As liberals, I want it to come from below. The emerging regional cooperation is a natural intermediary between the global and national level in a world federation. Today, we clearly see the European Union as such an intermediate level. But all regions in the world have their collaborations and organizations to find common solutions and regulations. We see it in Asia, North America and South America, and not least through the African Union on the African continent. Democracy is still a distant thought in many of the regional collaborations, but we see that the EU is striving to democratize the organization. Liberals will continue the fight for a democratic EU, and show the will to relinquish sovereignty from the nation state to find good solutions.
Democracy is not an impossible vision to have. We did not sit down in 1884 after the introduction of parliamentarism and thought: Yes, now there is enough democracy in Norway. We continued the fight for a more democratic Norway, and continue to work for more democracy in the world. The EU is still a young democracy and is constantly and critically criticized for not being democratic enough from the Norwegian left. Organizations do not become more democratic by sitting on the sidelines and criticizing. That is why we as liberals want to actively make the EU more democratic. Today, the idea of the UN as a world parliament seems distant to many, but for me as liberals it is the solution to today's challenges. A worldwide democracy will pave the way for a just, global economic policy. With a stable democracy, market forces and politics will be able to play together. This will require some of both rich countries and poor countries. It will require something from all the citizens of the world and their votes. A world democracy will mean the end of rich clubs and coalitions of dictatorship. As a Liberal, I will fight for my vote to make a difference in the local elections, in the national elections and in the global elections.
