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Entities to prevent conflict -

The League of Nations was formed in 1919, while the United Nations (UN) only formed in 1945. Both entities were formed to prevent more global conflict.

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Inability to address issues -

Despite the UN’s ongoing role and reputation, it has faced a great deal of criticism for its inability to address global issues in a profound way.

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Resolutions -

UN resolutions are often a site of political positioning, where national interests shine above global consensus, leading to a concentration of power that leaves less powerful nations in doubt of the organization’s efficacy.

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World peace -

More radical solutions have followed this disappointment; ones which highlight the potential for world peace and cooperation through different formats.

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Single political entity -

The Constitution for the Federation of the Earth aims to do just that. The proposed framework to unite nations into a single political entity seeks to address some of the perceived gaps in existing entities.

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Aims -

Issues such as war, the environment and climate change, human rights, socio-economic equity and its practical application, and conflict resolution more broadly, are all aims of the Constitution’s formation.

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World governance -

In the mid-1950s, a movement of world federalists formed to advocate for democratic world governance to address the most pressing global issues.

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Global federalists -

Instead of being considered merely guidelines or resolutions, what the global federalists proposed was a global, binding legal framework that would be applicable to everyone, everywhere on Earth.

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Global vision -

The document recognizes the sovereignty of all nations, while still insisting on a global vision that can be approached through legal means.

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Framework -

There are several key components to the document’s framework. They include: a global legislature, executive, and judiciary.

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Structure of national governance -

For many, this may seem like the structure of national governance and in many ways, it is exactly that—a series of governing bodies to formulate, apply, and ensure the protection of principles.

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Global legislature -

The global legislature refers to a governing body that is representative of all nations and, therefore, people. This entity is primarily responsible for not only global representation but also the production of laws for the common good.

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Global executive -

The global executive is a body that not only enforces the measures decided upon by the global legislature but manages the relations between nations.

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Global judiciary -

The global judiciary is an extension of a classical court system, in which the interpretation and application of the Constitution are evaluated to protect the rights of people and to adequately resolve any disputes that may emerge.

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Human rights and social justice -

The Constitution is framed by human rights and social justice. Matters of the environment, socio-economic inequities, and other global challenges that foster deep inequalities are key elements of the Constitution.

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Voting -

The voting system is likely what makes the Constitution so particular in terms of its vision. Its democratic principles are not through national representation alone, but also through suffrage.

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Key practice -

Its members propose voting as a key practice, perhaps through some sort of global voting system, to ensure that the decisions taken adequately reflect the views of the world population, rather than just the echoes of national leaders.

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Federal system -

This movement seeks to emulate the federal system on a world scale. It is the belief of the movement’s members that through the federal system, a democratic world government will be established.

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Merely an idea -

While there have been a great deal of contributions from different intellectuals, activists, organizations, and professionals, the Constitution remains a mere piece of paper for now.

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Nations not keen -

Despite its ratification by thousands of individuals, nations themselves have not been as enthusiastic about the initiative.

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Sovereignty -

The primary concern about the the Constitution and the federalization of world governance is the aspect of sovereignty.

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Sovereignty would need to adapt -

To reflect the vision of true global democracy and federation, there would need to be an alteration to perceptions of national sovereignty to adequately fit the world model.

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Universalisms -

Another argument is the challenge that all international regulations have—the problem with universalisms being applied as blanket terms across the world.

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Differences -

There are extensive cultural differences, religious diversities, and a breadth of political ideologies that make a global governance structure of this sort a significant challenge.

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Power dynamics -

Powerful nations, such as the United States, and regional governance structures, such as the European Union, make a democratic consensus a difficult challenge to adhere to, as it requires a more even power dynamic between nations.

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Nations with staggered voting -

This challenge is evident in the current structure of the United Nations, where there are some nations that have greater voting power than the majority of the membership.

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Converging interests -

Power dynamics and national interests converge to produce a challenging context to ensure democracy rules on the global stage.

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Complexities -

The implementation of such a project is incredibly complex and difficult without risking the loss of its potential due to the bureaucracy and inefficiency inherent in global systems.

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Traction -

While greater traction to resolve global problems has strongly emerged among people across the world, national and regional interests continue to block meaningful progress.

Sources: (Earth Constitution Institute) (World Federalist Movement) (Institute for Global Policy)

See also: American political feuds that got out of hand

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