Between Sovereignty and Globalisation Power Politics, Disarmament and Culture

This issue of Development Dialogue has a mixed content. It first presents Sir Brian Urquhart’s Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture entitled ‘Sovereignty and Globalisation: Where Does the United Nations Fit in?’ This is followed by a main section on Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones. Three further articles take up themes with which the readers of Development Dialogue are well familiar: publishing and creative writing in Africa; the pressure from pharmaceutical companies for unhealthy marketing practices; and the role of civil society in changing the political space for development. The topic of the Lecture by Brian Urquhart is one that is extensively discussed in international meetings and seminars as well as in books and journals. He argues that globalisation is no panacea for worldwide development and may in fact be of more limited benefit than was at first recognised. He points to a number of areas where it has raised more questions than it has provided answers. He also argues that the United Nations should not be considered passé when these issues are debated, but that the organisation can and should play a much larger role than it is doing right now.