At the Historical Crossroads — Radical Imaginaries and the Crisis of Global Governance

Abstract

It is important to re-emphasize in conclusion that it was never the purpose of this volume to offer a single perspective or voice on questions of global governance. Rather it seeks to offer a continuum of perspectives encompassing not only critical theory (as opposed to problem-solving theory) but also what I call ‘critical problem-solving’. So what follows is my review of some of the new imaginaries and forms of praxis that may have a transformative impact on global governance at what might be suggested, is an historical crossroads in world order. They seek changes in the direction of historical forces so as to transform prevailing structures of subordination, exploitation and dispossession and associated tendencies towards health crises and despoliation of the biosphere. Such novel, radical paths towards the making of history can be related to new forms of political agency in the emerging figure of what I call the ‘post modern Prince’ (Gill 2000b).