World Parliament: Governance and Democracy in the 21st Century (Session 1)

The World Citizen Book Club explored World Parliament: Governance and Democracy in the 21st Century (2nd edition) by Andreas Bummel and Jo Leinen. This session focused on Chapter 27, “Outlines of a New World Organization,” with Chapter 5, “The Second World War and the Atomic Bomb: World Federalism in the Early Years of the UN,” as optional reading.

About the Book

For the first time in history, all people worldwide are linked together in a shared civilization spanning the entire Earth. Global challenges such as war, poverty, inequality, climate change, and environmental destruction are overwhelming nation-states and today’s international institutions. Even the best policies are futile without appropriate political structures to implement them. This book argues that following the emergence of democracy in ancient times and its spread to modern states from the 18th century onwards, a third democratic transformation is imminent: expanding democracy to the global scale. The creation of a democratic world parliament is presented as the centerpiece of this project. The second edition reflects significant developments since the original publication, including the COVID-19 pandemic, autocratization, and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, with extensive revisions expanding the book by approximately one fifth.

About the Authors

Jo Leinen served as a member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2019, where he chaired the environmental committee and the committee on constitutional affairs. From 2011 to 2017 he was president of the European Movement, and from 1997 to 2005 he presided over the Union of European Federalists. He previously served as minister of the environment in the German state of Saarland (1985-1994). He graduated in law and was born in Bisten, Germany, in 1948.

Andreas Bummel is co-founder and director of Democracy Without Borders and of the Campaign for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly. He has dedicated his career to the promotion of global democracy and world federalism, serving as a Council member of the World Federalist Movement from 1998 to 2018. He was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1976.

Discussion Highlights

Participants examined the book’s vision for a new world organization built around a democratic world parliament. The discussion explored how existing international institutions could evolve toward greater democratic representation and accountability, and how the concept of a world parliament addresses the democratic deficit in current global governance structures. The chapter on world federalism in the early UN years provided historical context for understanding how these ideas have developed over decades.