World government

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Multinational empires, federations and unions

Effective governance of multiple nations has been accomplished in the past either by empire, by federation, or by supranational union.

Related Topics:
Nation - Empire - Federation - Supranational union

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Empires with pretensions or aspirations to world dominance

• Perhaps the empire coming closest to dominance of the then-known world was Alexander's in 323 BC, an empire which sought to fuse the disparate cultures of its rapidly conquered territories rather than impose a Macedonian template.

: "When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer." (Attributed to John Milton1)

Related Topics:
John Milton - 1

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• The Roman Empire (1st century BC to 5th century AD) ruled most of the Mediterranean rim, as well as parts of the Celtic regions of Northern Europe.
• The Mongol Empire of the 13th century was probably the largest continuous land empire of all time, ruling about half of the world population. Most historians believe that Western Europe would also have fallen under Mongol rule had the news of Ögedei Khan's death not forced Batu Khan to suspend his campaign.
• The Byzantine Empire
• Ming Dynasty China had dominion over the "Middle Kingdom", which it believed to have all significant culture, science, and art in the world. On the verge of global naval dominance the Chinese fleet was recalled partially because the Emperor was thought to need nothing in the outside world. Jared Diamond has advanced the thesis that a government, such as China's, without meaningful external opposition will tend to technologically and socially stagnate; many modern objections to World Government are based on the long decline of Imperial China.
• The Portuguese Empire stretched through about half the world (commercially or politically) in the 15th century.
• The Ottoman Empire which ended in 1922, covered the entire Arab world, to include the Middle East, North Africa and parts of Europe and Asia.
• Napoleon dominated Europe and (by colonial extension) Latin America, Indonesia, and parts of coastal Africa.
• The British Empire reached its peak in early 20th century, ruling over about a quarter of Earth's population.
• The Russian Empire, in the 20th century, was so large that its only rival at the time was Britain and its empire.
• The Soviet Union ("Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" - USSR) stretched over large parts of the northern Eurasian continent from 1922 to 1991. Until 1935 it proposed a global communist government through exported revolution and military expansion.
• The United States of America is currently the only superpower in the world and has extensive political, military and economic influence in all areas of the world. In addition to the possibility of using its influence there are some people (for example Project for the New American Century or Niall Ferguson) who argue that USA should better deploy its power to more cost effectively improve security.

Voluntary unions of polities in history

Countries like Switzerland and Belgium developed confederal forms of government centuries ago to bring diverse groups together to peacefully form stable and effective societies that continue to respect internal linguistic and ethnic diversity. The Netherlands established the world's first federation by creating the United Provinces in 1581 by signing of the Oath of Abjuration. The United States established the world's second federation with the replacement of the Articles of Confederation by the Federal Constitution of 1787, which has since been emulated by dozens of countries. India, the world's largest democracy, is a federation of dozens of peoples, each with its own culture and language.

Related Topics:
Switzerland - Belgium - Netherlands - United Provinces - 1581 - Oath of Abjuration - United States - Articles of Confederation - Federal Constitution of 1787 - India

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More recently, the evolving and expanding European Union has attempted to unite a large group of widely diverse, formerly hostile, nations spread over a large geographical area. The EU's lead is being followed by the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the South American Community of Nations. These multinational associations are at different stages of development, but they are all growing, both in coverage and in extent of economic and political integration.

Related Topics:
European Union - African Union - Association of Southeast Asian Nations - South American Community of Nations

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The total population currently aggregated under multi-national political governance organizations, either a full federation or an evolving regional integration process, is approximately 3 billion, about a half of humanity.

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