Global and Comprehensive Regimes: The un System

Abstract

As explained in chapter 1 above, the scope of multinational policy regimes must be defined in at least two different dimensions: 1) geographic or political scope, referring to spatial and/or other jurisdictional dimensions of the regime; and 2) functional scope, referring to the kinds of activities over which the regime is intended to have some influence. The geographic/ political scope of the European Community (EC), for example, is limited to certain countries in Europe that have opted and been accepted for membership. The functional scope of most multinational regimes is also typically limited; they deal only with the specific set of concerns—trade, air travel, environmental issues—agreed upon among their participants. A regime that is (at least in principle) open to all participants that might have an interest in its activities, or that takes actions intended to affect all parts of the world, may be termed global. A regime that may (again, at least in principle) address any and all concerns that might arise among its participants, without regard to specific prior agreement as to the appropriateness of the inquiry, may be termed comprehensive. (It might be noted that national political regimes, i.e., governments, are functionally comprehensive within their individual borders.)