Journal of Power, Politics & Governance

Power and Representation in Global Governance
Bryant Edward Harden

Abstract
In the aftermath of the Second World War, international actors pursued efforts of cooperation in order to address issues of global importance. Using a Foucauldian framework, this essay examines the current representativeness of global governance and the possibility of true representation in the future. This essay highlights the universality of power and its association with hierarchy as it emanates from inequalities in social relations. This essay illustrates the inequalities and relations of power found in the structuring of the United Nations and efforts of humanitarian intervention. Despite efforts to make global governance more representativeness, this essay concludes that the omnipresence of power and inequality in social relations means that perpetuates the distinction between the powerful and less powerful; therefore, global governance can never be truly representative.

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