Keeley, F. (2014). Who Should Govern, Cities or Nation-States? A False Choice. Solutions 5(4): 80-83. https://thesolutionsjournal.com/article/who-should-govern-cities-or-nation-states-a-false-choice/
Reviews Book Review
Who Should Govern, Cities or Nation-States? A False Choice by Fred Keeley REVIEWING If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities Benjamin Barber (Yale University Press)
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et’s get two things straight from the beginning: First, Benjamin Barber is one smart fellow. Second, his prescription for saving democracy is wildly off base. In his most recent book, If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities (Yale University Press), Professor Barber produces another of his wonderfully intense pieces of writing, this time taking on the twin issues of whether or not nations can effectively self govern in the modern world (he thinks not), and whether or not cities can become their successors (he thinks that they can). To get there, If Mayors Ruled the World takes readers through a Whitman’s Sampler of inspiring mayoral achievements, while offering blistering criticism of nations and international bodies who he claims have failed humanity’s biggest tests. Former Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek is singled out for praise because of his often quoted admonition to the city’s eternally squabbling religious leaders that “I’ll fix your sewers if you knock off the sermons.” Michael Bloomberg, immediate past Mayor of New York City, is a particular favorite of Professor Barber. Citing an unnamed “senior advisor” to Bloomberg, we learn the following, “you look at the way Mike has operated [and] he’s used mayors around the world and his network
of philanthropy to produce what I would say are the beginnings of an international infrastructure that can promote a level of change that is hard to fathom.” The “network of philanthropy” tool in “Mike’s” toolbox may seem just a bit out of reach for virtually any other mayor in the world, yet it is a key to whatever metric of success one can attribute to the former mayor. Certainly, Teddy Kollek, Michael Bloomberg, Sheila Dikshit of Delhi, and Ayodele Adewale of Lagos have a lot to be proud of regarding service to their respective constituencies. It is equally as certain that New York, Delhi, and Lagos have vast stretches of dilapidated housing and huge populations living in grinding poverty, for whom there appears to be no municipal relief. In contrast to Professor Barber’s claim, what relief there may be is shaped and managed by national governments. When it comes to America, think about Food Stamps, federal funds for affordable transportation, and access to quality health care via Medicaid operated by the states and delivered by county governments. Professor Barber’s careful selection of cities and mayors, designed to make his argument plausible, leaves out the cities and mayors who are anything but models of “from the bottom up” democracy. (Perhaps the reader can insert here their favorite
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Yale University Press
fallen mayor. To prompt your thinking, consider Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick of Detroit, or Mayor Marion Barry of Washington, DC). While there are many creative and honorable mayors around the world, there are similarly state legislators, members of congresses or parliaments, and heads of state who are equally creative and effective. Can you really argue that Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, is a policy or political failure? Is it possible to overlook former Costa Rican president Oscar Arias as a model of effective governance? As Professor Barber marches on toward his proposed “Global Parliament of Mayors,” he first must either disparage or ignore the existing international entities that are in existence to deal with massive-scale issues, such as atomic energy, famine, and disease. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a very substantial track record of success.
Reviews Book Review While far from perfect, the IAEA can can hold its organizational head high regarding management of the belligerent use of nuclear power. Can mayors really put together an equally good or better entity that can do that particular job as well as mayors can collect garbage? The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, while also imperfect, can lay claim to relieving millions from starvation. Can mayors do a better job? If so, why are they not already feeding their poor and undernourished? Where Professor Barber is spot on is identifying cities as incubators of very creative problem solving. He
provides numerous well-documented case statements in this regard, and they should not be dismissed simply because his premise is exaggerated. Similarly, neither the reader nor Professor Barber should dismiss the creative work done every day in the United States by governors and state legislatures. For a large scale example, it is the State of California, working in a bi-partisan manner, that has taken the most bold and effective steps on large scale solutions to global climate change (clearly prodded into action by a federal congress and executive branch that cannot bring themselves to act in concert
on this clear and present danger to humanity). The false choice that Professor Barber seems to be presenting is this: national and international entities are failing, and untested theories of united mayors will succeed. Perhaps Professor Barber would do better to simply argue that mayors getting together in formal and informal leagues can add positive and effective solutions to vexing urban problems. It does not do his argument any good to say that such association is preferable to nations and their inherent powers for change and progress.
Media Reviews Looking Beyond Conflict by Eloise Harnett While modern media is filled with stories of violence, conflict, and strife around the world, we rarely hear stories of peaceful endings, reconciliation and hope for the future. The Boston-based organization, Beyond Conflict, offers some hope to our bookshelves with its first book, simply titled Beyond Conflict. Beyond Conflict is an organization that assists leaders in countries transitioning from conflict to peace. Its approach is simple but effective: Beyond Conflict brings experienced leaders who have successfully transitioned from periods of conflict and civil war, together with leaders currently struggling with conflict. Its new book, written by Co-Founder Tim Phillips, draws from 20 years of experience in peace negotiations in some of our world’s most conflict-torn areas. Throughout its 20 years, Beyond Conflict has led over 70 initiatives
involving hundreds of leaders from 50 countries worldwide. These initiatives have ranged from assisting leaders in South Africa faced with the realities of a post-Apartheid society, to working with leaders in Northern Ireland negotiating the Good Friday Peace Agreement. Its new book draws from six of Beyond Conflict’s numerous initiatives, focusing on key leaders the organization has worked with. In Northern Ireland, where decades of tension and violence led to an overwhelming lack of trust between parties, Jeffrey Donaldson explains how Beyond Conflict’s initiatives had impacted him: “For the first time I recognized that although we were political opponents, although in the conflict we were enemies, we also had suffered loss, each of us. We needed to reach beyond the sense of being opponents and enemies to recognize that on both sides there had been suffering, on both sides there had been loss.”
Beyond Conflict & Brideswell Books
With a successful history of bringing together leaders and practitioners in hopes of creating lasting peace, Beyond Conflict’s current initiatives bring great hope for our future. Today the focus of this organization lies within Bahrain, Cuba, Kosovo and Turkey.
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Reviews Media Reviews
World Economic Forum / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Céline Cousteau, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CauseCentric Productions speaking at the 2012 World Economic Forum Summit on the Global Agenda.
Filmmaking for the Greater Good by Rachel DuShey For non-profit organizations focused on advancing their causes, communicating their work to the public may not be a priority. A media organization led by the granddaughter of French marine scientist Jacques Cousteau is trying to help, by producing stunning, powerful video shorts about the work of environmental organizations, and donating them to the groups.
CauseCentric Productions (CCP), a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, helps other charitable groups and individuals all over the world promote their cause by providing them with professional multi-media coverage. Founded and led by Celine Cousteau, documentarian and explorer, CCP travels to remote parts of the world to bring important stories to the forefront. The 3–10 minute “Short Films” cover topics from agricultural training in Uganda to environmental conservation in Chilean Patagonia. One film features a mission to Papua New Guinea with “Healing
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Seekers”, a non-profit based in North Carolina, that studies tribal medicine. The group works with local communities to preserve their knowledge of medicinal plants and discover healing cures. CCP also produces “Minutes”, which feature inspiring individuals that the organization meets during its travels, and a documentary project called People and the Sea, which includes a mini-series and short films about non-profits that work in the water. PR is a valuable tool that can help non-profits better communicate their message and thus advance their cause.
Reviews Media Reviews America’s Healthiest Cities by Sam Whitefield It’s not at all controversial to say that people want to be healthy. But health priorities can differ between individuals. The just-married 30-somethings want a healthy environment in which to raise children, but the just-retired 60-somethings want one in which they can have rewarding and fulfilling post-retirement lives. A new book from TIME Books identifies places that are among America’s healthiest by some definition of that word. The best place to raise a healthy
kid, reportedly, is Burlington, VT. The best place for those retirees to age well is Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. Other categories include healthiest food (San Francisco Bay, CA), best healthcare (Boston, MA), keeping fit (Denver and Boulder, CO), healthy environment (Portland, OR), and more. The book is divided into ten sections, each focused on one of the winning cities. For each city, a local author was hired to write about, for example, the fitness and outdoors culture that results in denizens of Denver and Boulder taking 2,000 more steps per day than those in other areas,
or the wealth of organic and local markets that make the San Francisco Bay Area such a healthy place to eat. Accompanying these essays are beautiful, full-color photographs illustrating the attraction of the area. While each city chosen as a category winner deserves congratulations, the book also selected an overall winner in the “lifelong health” category. Honolulu, HI was chosen as the winner, both because of its “incredible year-long access to outdoor activity” and its “cultural attitudes like ohana— a sense of being deeply connected to one another.”
Wally Gobetz / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Time’s new book, Healthiest Places to Live, names Honolulu as the winner of the “lifelong health” category. www.thesolutionsjournal.org | July-August 2014 | Solutions | 83