Governance for a Higgledy-Piggledy Planet Crafting a Balance Between Local Autonomy and External Openness

More orderly government and better cross-border communication can help the world solve existential problems

It's no secret that the nearly 200 nations in the world have a hodge-podge of governance systems--they're higgledy-piggledy in the analysis of esteemed economist Ralph C. Bryant. No two countries are governed in exactly the same way, even though overall structures might seem similar.

What's the problem with this disparate nature of how governments operate and make decisions? The answer, Bryant says, is that disorderly or even competing systems often produce faulty decisions that cause damage within countries, across borders between them, or even across the world. Disorder undermines mutual well-being.

The solution, Bryant writes, lies in not in endlessly arguing over the pros and cons of globalization, as too often has been the case in recent years. Instead, the nations of the world need to craft compromises among themselves that acknowledge the higgledy-piggledy nature of their existing governance systems and that instead promote cross-border cooperation ameliorating the disorder.

International cooperation is becoming progressively more essential, as shown by current struggles to deal with a global pandemic and the longer-term challenges posed by climate change. Could the world produce enough cooperation to support marked progress in reducing the dangers of global climate change? Could more cross-border cooperation mitigate dangers from recurring financial instability? Do nations and their leaders have enough foresight to use their borders not as barriers but as catalysts for comity and stronger international agreements?

The answers to these questions. Bryant argues, can and should be yes. More cross-border cooperation can generate order that helps offset the disorder that otherwise prevails.

This intriguing and thought-provoking book addresses essential questions that are, or should be, at the forefront of humanity's ongoing struggles to govern itself.