Is global governance inevitable? Is democratic global governance likely? I point out two obstacles that lie in the path toward democratic global governance: political inequality and nationalist retrenchment. While global governance is already here, democratic global governance is held back by political inequality within and between nations. In this context, nationalist retrenchment, a stop and back-slide toward unilaterialism where nations eschew global governance strategies, also poses a challenge to the democratic development of global governance institutions. This article serves to continue the conversation among sociologists and other social scientists on the optimistic hopes for democratic global governance.
Global governance; Democracy; Political inequality; Global issues