Download 1 THE NORTH-SOUTH RELATIONS IN THE POST-COLD

THE NORTH-SOUTH RELATIONS IN THE POST-COLD WAR PERIOD -ITS
MEANING FOR FORMATION
OF A GLOBAL ORDER-
Nishikawa Jun
WASEDA UNIVERSITY
INTRODUCTION
After the collapse of the East-West Cold War system, the world order has rapidly
been changing. The collapse of the Cold-War system itself shows how today’s world
system is being radically changing. The North-South issues have undoubtedly constituted
one of the major factors for the shin of the world system. Another should be related to the
rise of the global factors. We will see in this paper the meaning of the North-South relations
in the formation of a new global order which will shape the world system in the beginning
of the 21st century. For this purpose, we will examine first the shift of the modern world
system that we are observing in the 1990s. This shift is characterized by two different
movements: first, the rise of the New International Economic Order, which was promoted
by the countries of the South; second, the decay of the hegemonies world order dominated
by two superpowers, this decay being brought by the contradictions between superpowers
and middle and small nations. From this analysis, we can say that the North-South issues or
the relations between developed centers and late-starting and catching-up nations
constituted major factors for disintegration of the existing hegemonic hierarchical world
order.
Next, we will examine the globalization move as agent in the existing world system.
The globalization move can be analyzed in two levels: economic level and political/cultural
level. Economic globalization consists of internationalization of production system,
liberalization and progress of market economic system. Political and cultural globalization
can be seen in the promotion of human rights, national/region/individual identity,
democracy and good governance. These two different levels of globalization have
accelerated transformation of the actual world system.
1
Third, after having examined these factors which have been bringing change in the
actual world order, we will analyze polarization moves in the emerging new global order.
The polarization is related first to increasing gaps between world-wide rich nations
and poor nations, as it is shown in the increasing North-South gaps on world-wide scale.
Second it is related to increasing world poverty and deterioration of environment. The mass
of population are suffering from deprivation, exclusion and discrimination. The so called
South-South gaps are one of the characteristics of the emerging actual global order. In the
last analysis, the polarization should be related to the progress of market mechanism on
world-wide scale.
Having analyzed these points; we might reach to the following conclusion. We
would like first to point out that the hierarchical and hegemonistic world order which
characterized our globe since several centuries has been shifting and that more and more
people are concerned to a human- and people-centered system rather than the hierarchical
nation-state system. This new order is strongly colored by people's movement aiming at
human rights, identity, harmony with nature and peace. At the same time, however, within
this world order, we identify the progress of various gaps, deprivation, discrimination and
exclusion. This could open the way to national, ethnic and civil rivalry, conflicts and
eventually catastrophic war(s). This war, though it is not declared has been already in
progress in the form of increasing poverty, starvation and destruction of environment. Here
lies the importance of the appeal to the humanity based on the "mind of Hiroshima", which
recognizes its own responsibility for bringing catastrophic end.
Learning from the experience of Hiroshima, we might direct ourselves to the more
peaceful world order of the 21't century.
1- THE SHIFT OF THE MODERN WORLD SYSTEM
AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY
(I) The New International Economic Order (NIEO) and the change in the
international division of labor system
Today's North-South gaps originated from the system of international division of
labor by the industrially advanced powers since several centuries. This system is a modem
world system, which is based on capitalist production, division of labour and market
2
mechanism. Within this system, not only the gaps between the developed and countries, but
also those between the have and not-haves developed.
The modem world system has developed through different business cycles, which
bring constantly instability of economy, unemployment and misery. It was called market
failures.
However industrially advanced countries have forged a welfare state, based on the
international division of labor, thus integrating not-have worker class in the system, as the
state-intervention system. It gave prosperity to advanced countries, though they suffered
from world-wars, fought between advanced countries and late-starting industrializing
nations. The modern world system reached to its apogee around the '1950s-60s, when
advanced countries have accomplished major technical revolutions in the field of heavy and
chemical industries and experienced high economic growth.
In the 1970s, the situation has drastically begun to change. In the 1950-60 already,
the under-developed nations had access to political independence and in the 1960s begun to
claim industrialize themselves, calling themselves developing countries: the North-South
issues emerged.
The countries of the South, after the oil shock of 1973, convened a U.N. special
conference on Raw Materials and Development and adopted a declaration urging to realize
a New International Economic Order (NIEO). NIEO aimed at establishing sovereignty on
natural resource in order to promote industrialization. Since then, two moves have
developed among developing countries: first, they formed producers groups and tried to
control their own natural resources, some of them, including the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries (OPEC), had success and others failures, however, it is true that the
countries of the South established, in very short period of time, sovereignty over most of
natural resources that they produce and that had been controlled before by multinational
corporations originated from industrial North. Second, developing countries proceeded to
aggressively industrialize themselves: in 1976, at the forum of the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO), they declared to increase their share of only 7% of
world industrial production to 25% in 2000, later they modified this objective to 35%.
Since then industrialization in the South, in
particular in Asian and Latin American
countries, has spectacularly developed and the share of the South in the world industrial
3
production attained in fact around 20% in 1990: triple increase in two decades. The NIEO
and consequent shift of the international division of labor system has been bringing a
fundamental change in the modern world system.
(II) The collapse of the East-West cold war system- a decay of the hegemonic world
order system
The modem world system has always been characterized by hegemonistic
leadership of powerful industrial nations and center-periphery structure. After WWII, the
division of the world market by two superpowers emerged the U.S. and the U.S.S.R, each
dominated its own sphere of influence. This East-West rivalry or the cold war system has
collapsed around 1990.
The reasons of the decay of this system are twofold. First, two superpowers
accelerated armament race which undermined their economic base. The wrong security
policy based on the military balance or the "equilibrium of terror" led continuous increase
in military budget and their financial difficulty increased in both of them. Their financial
difficulty was accelerated due to their engagement in the war with the Third world nations:
the U.S.A. in Vietnam and the U.S.S.R. in Afghanistan. 'Their containment policy of the
Third World clearly failed and both of them were obliged to leave the territory of the South.
Second, the lead in industry of advanced nations are being caught up by late-starting
industrialising countries, including Japan and Asian NIES. The U.S.A. lost its trade
advantage already around 1970 and the gold-exchange system that this superpower
instituted in the Western economy moved into fluctuation exchange system in 1974. In the
case of the U.S.S.R, the information revolution, the progress of the human-rights
consciouness and the revolt of nations imprisoned in the Russian Empire, all contributed to
the fall of the Comecon/WTO hegemonistic system.
That is why, in the 1970s-80s, the so-called bi-polar world moved into multi-polar
world. Around 1990, the Soviet empire collapsed and them the U.S.S.R. itself.
We have to point out that, behind the collapse of the hegemonistic world order, lies
another fundamental change in the system. We saw that market system constituted one of
the basis for the Modern world system, but because of market failures, this system needed
the state control. 'The modern world system has always been developed in the framework
4
of the nation-state system. However, in the last half of the 20th century, it has become clear
that this state system has its own failures and confronts serious difficulty: more and more
economy needed state system and the state bureaucracy inflated, thus accelerating financial
deficit, which limited the state’s choice.
The state failure, have become clear in the light of globalization moves which
emerged in the world system. Let us examine the effects of globalization on the
transformation of the world system.
2 - THE GLOBALIZATION WAVE OF AGENT OF CHANGE
IN THE WORLD SYSTEM
( I ) Economic globalization internationalization of production system, liberalization
progress of opened market economy system
The globalization wave constitutes undoubtedly one of the major actors for
bringing change in the world system. We have to define here the exact meaning of the
globalization. This term is used in contrast of the economic and social moves which are
confined in the national or regional border. In other world, this term designates these
moves which are not limited inside the westphalian nation state system and which surpass
it. These globalization moves, economic, political and socio-cultural, might be endogenous
or exogenous for the system. For example, the endogenous move could be related to
internationalisation of firm and production system. Multinational firms represent
endogenous globalization move for the nation state system. They urge liberalization of
state control and regulations, thus representing liberalization movement.
They also urge open door policy for the countries and regions where they intend to
develop their activities or want to exploit new market, using very often the state and
international power. In this case, the globalization is seen by the concerned parties as
exogenous. In any way, there is no doubt that the increase of productive power and
consequent multinationalization of firms constitute major actors for economic
globalization.
Borderless activities of high productive firms, which are based on market economy,
demand liberalization policy in two field. First, they demand wider market and removal of
5
tariff and non-tariff barriers. Second, the state is requested to adopt non-interventionist
policy. Multinational corporations become always agents for liberalization policy.
The liberalization policy promotes market mechanism. The effects of progress of
market mechanism are twofold On the one hand, market mechanism is favourable for
efficient distribution of resource in the economic field and, in the political field, it promotes
democracy or vertical type of social relations: in the market, we have only seller and buyer,
which excludes all hierarchical relationships. That is why, the progress of market
mechanism is most strong arm for democratic world. However, the market mechanism has
also its own failures. These include business cycles, crises, unemployment, the gap between
the rich and the poor, poverty, regional gaps, pollution, deterioration of environment, racial
disintegration, etc. These so-called market failures necessitated the state-intervention,
which becomes the basis for the welfare state.
However, in the new world system which is emerging, the state system shows that it
has its own failures such as inflated bureaucracy which is not sensitive to technological
innovations, increasing fiscal deficit which is accelerated by the " society and armament
race, and inertia of the people receiving unilaterally from the state welfare provision
system. The basis of the state system is also being more and more undermined by the
developing international system of production as well as free movement of various factors
of production such as capital, technology, manpower, resource, etc.
What should be other positive factors in shaping the new global world order. We
have to examine here political and cultural factors for globalization.
(2) Political and Cultural Globalization - Human Rights, Identity, Democratization
and Good Governance
Market failures were accused through the 1980s on the world-wide scale. In this
decade, the wave of liberalization, de-nationalization and de-regulation has progressed
everywhere. This is because of the state-failures which seriousness had been recognized in
the 1970s. Many government and developing, adopted deliberately neo-liberalist policies.
With the progress of market economy opening policy, and information and
communication revolution promoted by enormous progress of computer and multimedia
technology, people’s value system begun to move toward more democratic system of social
6
and international relations. Not only the economy, but people’s identity as well as the
notion of human rights and dignity
After the Second World War, with the national liberation movements and the access
to independence of many Third world nations, the notions of human rights have
spetacularly developed. This development concerns mainly to the following two points
First, since the modern age and the rise of civil society, the human rights notion has been
developed as individual liberty rights. In the 19th century, with the development of labor
movement, the social rights have developed. After the WWII, the new collective rights,
such as self-determination, right to development, right to environment, etc. were raised .
The articles 1 and 2, common to the both covenant A and Covenant B of the
International Covenants of Human Rights, defines each the right of self-determination and
the equality right of men and woman, both collective rights. These are new development of
human rights. Second, the right of individual is considerably widened and, in the Optional
Protocol of the Covenant B: Liberty Rights, it is determined that, an individual might suit
the state, when the latter violates the human rights. Here, since the rise of the modern
nation-state system, for the first time, the individual stands at the equal footing with state.
We might say that the human rights, which were considerably developed and
deepened and most of which were incorporated in the International Covenants of Human
Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1976.
The strenghening of human rights is related to the increasing people’s concern on
their own identity, which is manifested in the national, ethnological, social or individual
levels. In the modern age and just after the WW II through the 1950-60s, this identity
constituted one of the driving force of the nation-state and was manifested mainly in the
form of nationalism.
However, in recent years, in particular, after the fall of the East-West cold war
system, people’s identity has much diversified : ethical, cultural or social groups claiming
their identity, it leads often to conflicts.
The development of human rights, on the other hand is promoting democratization
on the world-scale. The democratization is related, as we pointed out already, to the
progress of market economy, however, there is no doubt that people's increasing concern
7
on human right and dignity constitutes one of the driving force of democracy. This is
highly visible in the Tien-an Mon Incident in China in June 1989.
After the collapse of East-West rivalry, political and cultural globalization has been
progressing. The cultural globalization derives from economic, informational and
communicational globalization as well as the universalization of people's value system.
In recent years, in the field of international development, the role of good
governance has b«n emphasized. Good governance has two meanings. First, it is related to
the Western countries emphasis on propagating their own value system to the world-wide.
The rule of law, plural party system, representative democratic system are among the major
pillars of their value-system. The western countries are keen to propagate these ideals to the
developing countries, which value system very often considered incompatible to their own.
In this sense, the good governance is used as diplomatic tool for developed countries to
enforce their will to developing countries. Second, however, the good governance can be
claimed on the part of the people who urge the government value system to respect human
rights and democratic rule. The simple and pure dictatorship, whether it is for individual’s
will for power or for development sake, is becoming more and more isolated in the world
opinion. Democracy can bee referred to the following two meanings : first, it is related to
the decentralization of power ; second, it designates the people’s participation to the
decision making and execution profess. Democracy, in these two meanings, should serve as
reference yard for realization of human rights. In this sense, people might always transform
the good governance, diplomatic tool of the state, to that can be claimed by the people in
order to assure their participation to the state affairs and to promote human right. This is
already visible in the participation of NGOs in the development affairs.
We saw, the globalization process is surely going on, both in economic and political
/ cultural planes Both, waves are developing centripetal as well as centrifugal movements
of the system, thus transforming the traditional world system to the new emerging global
order.
Let us lastly examine the polarization which been progressing in this transformation
process of the system.
3 - POLARIZATION IN THE EMERGING NEW GLOBAL ORDER
8
(1) Center-Periphery relationship revived: North-South and South-South gaps and
increase of marginalized population/ world-wide poverty and exclusion. Through the
economic globalization, i.e., the enormous development of international production and
market economy, center-periphery relations have revived or developed, both in
international and domestic fields.
In international field, the North-South gaps have widened. In the 1960s and 70s,
when the North-South gaps were first recognized after independence of the Third world
nations, the per-capita income gap between the North and the South was in general 10 to 1,
this led to the debt crisis of the latter, due to the unequal exchange between these two areas
and the consequent accumulated trade deficit of the South.
In the 1980s, however, with the progress of market economy world-wide, the NorthSouth gap further widened: in the early 1990s, the gap is estimated to reach 17 to 1. With
this widened gap, the poverty increased. According to the estimates of the World Bank, the
absolute poor population whose income level is lower than the estimated level that satisfies
the basic needs increased from approximately 578 million in 1969 to 1116 in 1985, two
times increase in 16 years. The United Nations uses the figure of "over 1100 million" to
designate the poor population in the early 1990s.
We have to know that, during the time when the North-South gap is being widened,
there are developing countries and areas which growth rates were very high and which are
catching up the developed countries. These are NIES, "four tigers of Asia", and the
ASEAN counties which are following the formers, and then the Chinese coastal area and
certain parts of India. NIES and several countries of ASEAN, in particular, Malaysia and
Thailand, are called Newly Industrializing Countries/Area or Dynamic Asian Countries.
People often says that Asia constitutes one of the most dynamic and growing region
of the world toward 21st century and they even call the next century an "Asian Century".
However, this growing region is not deprived of poverty and environmental destruction. In
fact, like USA, EU and Japan are the economic "centers of the world", the NIES can be
considered
centers
of
the
Asia-Pacific
region,
dominating
the
surrounding
countries/regions. In the 1970 and 80’s, these countries/regions achieved high economic
growth, inviting multinational firms and foreign technology and exporting their products to
the world market, in particular the U.S. market. This growing process of these countries,
9
preceded by Japan, was, for developed center countries, nothing but the downward process
of their economy, thus transforming the world system, as we pointed out already. In the
1990s, now the NISEI have emerged in the Asian scene as active investors to the
neighbouring countries and regions. They thus became promoters of the regional economic
zones (See Nishikawa Jun, "Regional Economic Zones in Asia and Their Implication on
International Economic Order", Waseda Economic Papers , No.34, 1995). They have been
achieving high economic growth, ranging from 7 to 8 % a year in the last two decades.
Here, the North-South gap narrowed; however, between the NIES and other developing
countries, the gap widened. Even in China and India, who adopted the open door policy in
the 1990s, the regional gap widened. This we call the South-South gap. In China, even
before the opening policy, the income gap between the urban and rural areas was estimated
to be 4 to 1 on average; however, after the open door policy and introduction of market
economy, the gap between the growing coastal area and under-developed interior reached
often more than 10 to 1: the Chinese call this phenomenon the “East-West”" gap, as the
capital and manpower, both valuable productive resources, of the backward Western
interior part emigrates into the advanced Eastern Coastal area. Now, in the interior part,
over 200 departments are designated as "backward area" which poor population in need of
assistance are estimated over 70 millions, according to the keynote report presented at the
International Symposium on Poverty in China", jointly held by the Chinese government and
the World Bank in October 1993.
Together with the regional gaps, the gap between the rich and the poor widened.
This is not limited in the developing part of the world. In the developed countries, where
the basis of the welfare-state that they had forged in the framework of the modern world
system is being undermined due to the transformation of this system, the state failures and
the aging of the society, unemployment ratio is rising. In the European countries, where the
unemployment rate was around 2% in the period of economic growth, this rate incrased in
general and, in the half of the 1990s, reached to the level of around 10%.
In USA, unemployment rate is 5-6%; however, in this country which receives every
year a huge number of immigrants, source of dynamism of this country, the poor
population or underclass, who receive the government support, account for 7% of total
population. In Japan, which unemployment has traditionally beer low, around 2%, the
10
unemployment rate race to 3% since 1995 and is forecast to increase further with the of
globalization, .i.e., accelerated overseas investment, opening of its economy and
consequent rationalization of firms management, and deregulation of economy. With the
rise of unemployment, it pointed out that discrimination against and exclusion of socially
weaker people are widely seen. These are women, handicapped, aged people and immigrant
workers who are often exposed to discrimination and exclusion. The gap between the
average salaries of men and women widened in the time of depression in several countries
and the position of the latters in employment tend to be rather unstable. The same can be
said to the aged people whose pension is constantly menaced by the inflation/bubble
tendency of the advanced state.
We said that the North/South gap has widened as well as the South-South gap.
However, in the Northern world, the gap between the rich and the poor or the established
and deprived has been progressing.
If the tendency of increasing poverty and unemployment continues, it lead to the
disintegration, both international and domestic. Already in the international level, we are
observing the North-South issues and conflicts. Now, both in the South and the North, the
regional and social gaps might easily accentuate conflicts between ethnic and social groups.
We have to understand that the ethnic conflicts that we are observing everywhere in the
world, after the fall of the East-West cold war system, in Bosnia, Liberia, Rwanda-Burundi,
China, the former Soviet Union, etc, are not only derived from the acquisition of national or
ethnic identity, but derive mainly from various gaps, which accelerate the acquisition of
identity.
We examined that, in the actual transformation process of the world system, the
center-periphery relationship revived and that poverty and exclusion have been increasing
on the world-wide scale, thus leading to conflicts and wars. What are the conditions for
realizing more equitable and peaceful global order. We will see this question in the last
place.
(2) Toward a human- and people-centered World system: conditions of a more
equitable and peaceful world order
We saw that polarization is progressing in the emerging new global order. The new
order is in fact characterized both by centripetal and centrifugal movements. The centripetal
11
movement concern the development of multinational firms which has hierarchical system
on the world-wide and the cultural conformation based on the mass-production/massconsumption civilization. However, the progress of market economy brings also the
centrifugal momentum: democratization, decentralization, and networking of various
economic and social actors. Through these moves, we see dearly the development of human
rights notion which has become one of the major agents in forming a new global order.
Since the 19th century, the modern world system has been characterised by the cult
of progress and, after the W.W.II, of development. For modern men, the progress and
development meant always economic growth and material prosperity: this credo has been
destroying both human relations and the relations between human beings and the nature on
the world scale. ln recent years, however, the increasing poverty and destruction of
environment have been widely noticed and various international forums, including the
U.N., are trying to change the objective of development from GNP growth to human- and
people-centered one. This is the meaning of the publication of the 'Human Development
Report" by the United Nations Development Program since 1991.
Human development refers to the pattern of development which emphases, not only
economic growth, but more fundamentally people's basic needs and freer choice in his life.
Social indicators, including Human Development Indicators, are being 'developed to
substitute GNP indicators. There is a clear shift in the objective of development. This
change has been already noticed by successive proposal of new notions of development by
international organisations through the 1980s, such as sustainable development or broadbased growth.
ln order to achieve human- and people-centered development, the actors of
development should also be diversified. We saw that the modern world system was
promoted by the hands of the nation-states and profit-seeking private enterprises based on
the market system. These two major actors have pursued progress and development since
the 19th century in the framework of the modern world system However, at the time of the
transformation of the modern world system, a new actor for the coming global order
emerges: the civil society.
In March 1995, when the World Summit for Social Development was convened in
Copenhagen,
which
discussed
world-wide
poverty,
unemployment
and
social
12
disintegration, the civil society, which is represented by Non-Profit Organizations (NPOS),
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOS), cooperatives and independent journalism, was
considered one of major actors for tackling these social issues.
In development field, equally, the NGOs are more and more considered important
partners, watchers and interlocutors of the state and the private firms. The development of
civil society should constitute one of the major actors in correcting both the state and
market failures. Of course, the civil society itself is always exposed to various failures, such
as anarchy, endless discussion, chauvinistic rivalry, etc. However, the major drive of civil
society is solidarity or volunteership, which is very different from the state motive of power
or the firms motive of profit.
The rise of civil society reflects the world-wide democratic tendency as well as
diversification of the value system. The civil society always should live democratic tension
and dynamism, which is very different from the mass society, which has been developed as
objective of development and which is deprived of any endogenous active factors. In this
sense, perhaps, the civil society, as well as the balanced relationship between the major
actors of development, state, market and civil society, should constitute one of the motives
for more equitable and peaceful global order, since it keen to strengthen human rights,
rectifying various gaps and realizing its own ideal which is not necessarily with the state
power or firms profit.
We don't know yet the shape of new global order which will prevail in the 21st
century. This new global system could be a order where various gaps and conflicts are more
accused, which could progress toward an apocalyptic end of the world and humanity. In
this case, more and more people shall suffer from poverty, misery, starvation, deprivation,
calamities, and civil-strifes and conflicts.
But perhaps, another type of the world system can be conceived. This system will
inherit various actors of change which occurred in the modem world system in particular,
the mega-wave of human rights, democratization and respect for environment. In order to
promote this possible global order, diversification of our value system which is not
necessarily limited to pursuit of material growth, as well as of development actors, which
are not limited to the state and firms but include the civil actors, should be necessary.
13
CONCLUSION
Today, we are living in the era where the modern world system is being transformed
by various factors developed within the system. In particular, the traditional international
division of labor has been modified by the rise of newly industrialising nations. The NIEO
constitutes undoubtedly one of the driving forces of the change in the world system and has
prepared the rise of Asian states as economic powers. As well, the East-West cold war
system has collapsed, which annouces the end of the hegemonic world order. Under this
change, lies the globalization waves which have been developing both in economic and
political/cultural fields.
In the economic field, globalization is related to huge increase of productive forces,
internationalization of production system, development of multinational corporations as
well as market economy, and the consequent liberalization and opening policy. The
globalization move has been bringing tremendous changes both in international and
domestic fields, including spread of mass-production and mass-consumption system and
democratisation, but it has brought at the same time world-wide poverty and destruction of
environment.
In the political and cultural field, democratization and good governance are new
values which are forging a new global order. However, these values have fundamentally
been promoted by the strengthening of human right and individual/collective identity. The
notion of human rights have considerably been widened and deepened in recent decades
and constitutes undoubtedly one of the major agents for a new global order.
However, in this transformation process, we see polarisation which is going on
inside the system. This polarization is being notice at the international, regional, national or
social levels. It is manifested in the increasing North-South gaps, South-South gaps, gaps
between the urban and rural areas, gaps between the rich and the poor, etc. Inside the
developed area, equally, the polarization is taking place with the collapse of the welfarestate which was formed on the old international division of labor system In particular, the
polarization is affecting socially weaker people: women, handicapped, aged people,
immigrant people, etc. On the world-wide scale, the phenomena of poverty and
unemployment have become serious. That is why, the UN convened the World Summit for
Social Development in 1995 and designated the year 1996 as the International Year for
14
Eradication of Poverty and the decade starting from 1997 as the International Decade for
Eradication of Poverty. The UN and other international organizations thus begun to
emphasize social development in order to tackle with the World-wide international and
social disintegration issues which are being more and more felt crucial.
Thus an emerging new global order is leading us toward increasing disintegration of
the modern world system. This disintegration can lead us to world of conflicts, wars and
ultimately of self-destruction. This apocalyptic world can already be seen in our experience
in the Hiroshima at the end of WWII, where an atomic bomb caused a number of both
military and civil victims and atrocities.
However, there is a sign to construct more positive world order. Already there is a
turning in the notion of development, from the development emphasizing mainly material
wealth to that focuses on human and people-centered development. In order to assure this
new orientation in development, the participation of civil society is indispensable. The
development of civil society which emphasizes human rights, democracy, equity among all
livings and respect for more sustainable world, should constitute one of the major forces in
forging more peaceful and equitable global order.
In Hiroshima, there is a "mind of Hiroshima" which says: "Please sleep peacefully,
we don't repeat never our faults". This phrase indicates that we have to reflect on our own
behavior incausing mass-destruction of atomic arms. In Okinawa, people say: "Nuchidou
Takara" (Life is our utmost treasure). From the atrocities of the Second World War, people
acquired a fundamental moral of life. This wisdom should contribute undoubtedly to our
moral basis for forging a new global order of the 21st century.
15