World constitution

{{Short description|Proposed system of global governance}} {{About|world constitution|national constitutions|List of national constitutions}} {{Basic forms of government}}

A '''world constitution''' is a proposed framework or document aimed at establishing a system of global governance. It seeks to provide a set of principles, structures, and laws to govern the relationships between states and address global issues.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Wynner |first1=Edith |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4L85AQAAIAAJ |title=Searchlight on Peace Plans: Choose Your Road to World Government |last2=Lloyd |first2=Georgia |date=1949 |publisher= E. P. Dutton |language=en}}</ref> The concept of a world constitution reflects the aspiration for greater international cooperation, peace, and the resolution of global challenges.<ref name=":2" />

== Overview == A world constitution serves as a blueprint for organizing and governing global affairs. It typically outlines the powers, functions, and responsibilities of global institutions and establishes mechanisms for decision-making, conflict resolution, and the protection of human rights. The aim is to create a framework that promotes unity, justice, and sustainability on a global scale.<ref name=":2" />

== List of world constitutions == Efforts to formulate world constitutions have been present throughout history, often arising in response to global crises or conflicts. These initiatives have sought to address the limitations of the existing international order and propose more comprehensive systems of global governance.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Einstein |first1=Albert |url=http://archive.org/details/einsteinonpeace00eins |title=Einstein on peace |last2=Nathan |first2=Otto |last3=Norden |first3=Heinz |date=1968 |publisher=New York, Schocken Books |others=Internet Archive |pages=539, 670, 676}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=[Carta] 1950 oct. 12, Genève, [Suiza] [a] Gabriela Mistral, Santiago, Chile [manuscrito] Gerry Kraus. |url=http://www.bibliotecanacionaldigital.gob.cl/bnd/623/w3-article-137193.html |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=BND: Archivo del Escritor}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Prominent examples of world constitutions include:

=== Preliminary Draft of a World Constitution (University of Chicago, 1947) === {{wikisource|Preliminary Draft of a World Constitution 1948}} The University of Chicago drafted a preliminary document, ''Preliminary Draft of a World Constitution'', outlining a potential world constitution in 1948. Led by Robert Maynard Hutchins, the proposal aimed to stimulate discussions on global governance and provide a basis for further deliberations. The members of the Committee at the time of the publication of the Draft were Robert Hutchins, Elisabeth Mann Borgese, Mortimer J. Adler, Stringfellow Barr, Albert Léon Guérard, Harold Innis, Erich Kahler, Wilber G. Katz, Charles Howard McIlwain, Robert Redfield, and Rexford Tugwell.<ref name="Chicago">{{cite web |title=Guide to the Committee to Frame a World Constitution Records 1945–1951 |url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.CFWC |access-date=10 November 2019 |website=University of Chicago Library}}</ref>

=== Constitution for the Federation of Earth (1950s onwards) === ==== Albert Einstein ==== thumb|Einstein, 1947 (aged 68) Albert Einstein grew increasingly convinced that the world was veering off course. He arrived at the conclusion that the gravity of the situation demanded more profound actions and the establishment of a "world government" was the only logical solution.<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last=Feld |first=Bernard T. |date= March 1979 |title=Einstein and the politics of nuclear weapons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7goAAAAAMBAJ |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=11–15 |doi=10.1080/00963402.1979.11458591 |bibcode=1979BuAtS..35c...5F |access-date=2023-08-24 |via=Google Books|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=A policy for survival: A Statement by the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists |url=https://thebulletin.org/archive/a-policy-for-survival-a-statement-by-the-emergency-committee-of-atomic-scientists/ |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |language=en-US}}</ref> In his "Open Letter to the General Assembly of the United Nations" of October 1947, Einstein emphasized the urgent need for international cooperation and the establishment of a world government.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Einstein |first1=Albert |url=http://archive.org/details/einsteinonpeace00eins |title=Einstein on peace |last2=Nathan |first2=Otto |last3=Norden |first3=Heinz |date=1968 |publisher=New York, Schocken Books |others=Internet Archive |pages=440–443}}</ref> In 1948, Einstein invited United World Federalists (UWF) president Cord Meyer to a meeting of ECAS<ref>{{Cite web |year=1948 |title=LIFE – Hosted by Google |url=https://images.google.com/hosted/life/5995548573839d10.html |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=images.google.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |year=1948 |title=LIFE – Hosted by Google |url=https://images.google.com/hosted/life/9bf19f221511e092.html |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=images.google.com}}</ref> and joined UWF as a member of the Advisory Board.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Einstein |first1=Albert |url=http://archive.org/details/einsteinonpeace00eins |title=Einstein on peace |last2=Nathan |first2=Otto |last3=Norden |first3=Heinz |date=1968 |publisher=New York, Schocken Books |others=Internet Archive |pages=405}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Meyer |first=Cord |url=http://archive.org/details/facingrealityfro00meye |title=Facing reality : from world federalism to the CIA |date=1980 |publisher=New York : Harper & Row |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-06-013032-9 |page=47}}</ref> Einstein and ECAS assisted UEF in fundraising<ref name=":22" /> and provided supporting material.<ref>{{Citation |title=Meares, L.M., August 9, 1947. |url=https://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/omeka/items/show/21071 |access-date=2023-08-24}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Kirstein, William A., July 11, 1947 |url=https://scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/omeka/items/show/27971 |access-date=2023-08-24}}</ref> Einstein described United World Federalists as: "the group nearest to our aspirations".<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last1=Einstein |first1=Albert |url=http://archive.org/details/einsteinonpeace00eins |title=Einstein on peace |last2=Nathan |first2=Otto |last3=Norden |first3=Heinz |date=1968 |publisher=New York, Schocken Books |others=Internet Archive |page=558}}</ref>

Einstein and other prominent figures sponsored the Peoples' World Convention (PWC), which took place in 1950–51<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Einstein |first1=Albert |url=http://archive.org/details/einsteinonpeace00eins |title=Einstein on peace |last2=Nathan |first2=Otto |last3=Norden |first3=Heinz |date=1968 |publisher=New York, Schocken Books |others=Internet Archive |pages=539, 670, 676}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=[Carta] 1950 oct. 12, Genève, [Suiza] [a] Gabriela Mistral, Santiago, Chile [manuscrito] Gerry Kraus. |url=http://www.bibliotecanacionaldigital.gob.cl/bnd/623/w3-article-137193.html |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=BND: Archivo del Escritor}}</ref> and later continued in the form of world constituent assemblies in 1968, 1977, 1978–79, and 1991.<ref name=":11">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Global Strategies & Solutions : Preparing earth constitution |url=http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/strategy/193465 |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-07-15 |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of World Problems |publisher=Union of International Associations |via=uia.org |archive-date=2023-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719215501/http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/strategy/193465 }}</ref> This effort was successful in creating a world constitution and Provisional World Government consisting of a Provisional World Parliament.<ref name=":112">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Global Strategies & Solutions : Preparing earth constitution |url=http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/strategy/193465 |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-07-15 |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of World Problems |publisher=Union of International Associations |via=uia.org |archive-date=2023-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719215501/http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/strategy/193465 }}</ref>

==== World constituent assemblies ==== In 1960s the most comprehensive effort was made to draft a world constitution. Thane Read and Philip Isely drafted a form of agreement that aimed to admit delegates from both national governments and the people of all countries for a world constitutional convention.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Amerasinghe |first=Terence P. |title=Emerging World Law, Volume 1 |publisher=Institute for Economic Democracy |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-933567-16-7 |language=en}}</ref> A worldwide call for a World Constitutional Convention was sent, and many world figures and five national governments signed the call.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Letters from Thane Read asking Helen Keller to sign the World Constitution for world peace. 1961 |url=https://www.afb.org/HelenKellerArchive?a=d&d=A-HK01-07-B149-F04-022.1.8 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=Helen Keller Archive |publisher= American Foundation for the Blind | via= afb.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Letter from World Constitution Coordinating Committee to Helen, enclosing current materials |url= https://www.afb.org/HelenKellerArchive?a=d&d=A-HK01-07-B154-F05-028.1.6 |access-date=2023-07-03 |work= Helen Keller Archive |publisher=American Foundation for the Blind| via= afb.org}}</ref> As a result of that, the World Constitutional Convention and the Peoples World Parliament were held in Interlaken, Switzerland, and Wolfach, West Germany, in 1968.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-08-29 |title=Als Interlaken die heimliche Welthauptstadt war |url=https://www.bernerzeitung.ch/als-interlaken-die-heimliche-welthauptstadt-war-476772910117 |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=Berner Zeitung |language=de}}</ref> Over 200 participants from 27 countries attended these sessions, where the drafting of a constitution for a global federal world government began.<ref name=":0" /> The second session of the World Constituent Assembly took place in Innsbruck, Austria, in 1977.<ref name=":0" /> After extensive discussions and amendments, the draft constitution was unanimously adopted as the ''Constitution for the Federation of Earth''. It was further amended in the 3rd Constituent Assembly, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 1978–79<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pandit |first=M. P. |url=http://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.20544 |title=World Union (January–December) 1979 |date=1979 |publisher=World Union International, India |page=107}}</ref> and the 4th World Constituent Assembly, Troia, Portugal, in 1991.<ref name=":1">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Global Strategies & Solutions : Preparing earth constitution |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of World Problems |url=http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/strategy/193465 |url-status=dead |access-date=2023-07-15 |publisher=Union of International Associations |via=uia.org |archive-date=2023-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719215501/http://encyclopedia.uia.org/en/strategy/193465 }}</ref>

==== Provisional World Parliament ==== This Constitution for the Federation of Earth is a framework of a world federalist government.<ref name=":1" /> A Provisional World Parliament (PWP), a transitional international legislative body, operates today under the framework of this constitution.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Provisional World Parliament| publisher= Union of International Associations |url=https://uia.org/s/or/en/1100012539 |access-date=2023-07-18 |encyclopedia= The Encyclopedia of World Problems| via=uia.org}}</ref> It convenes to work on global issues, gathering delegates from different countries.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-08-15 |title=World Parliament a necessity: CM |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/world-parliament-a-necessity-cm/articleshow/815591.cms |access-date=2023-07-18 |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

== References == {{reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:World constitution}} Category:World government Category:Globalism Category:Global politics