Learning from the World

US leaders would do well to check out what's happening across the globe. I came across this article today from Singapore discussing how Regional Governance can help countries overcome financial crisis. Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo stated his beliefs that this is true in a speech at the Bali Democracy Forum on Wednesday.

The article states that he used Singapore as an example to illustrate how the government takes a pragmatic approach when it comes to democracy and things like protecting minority rights, and the rule of law. He also called on countries to make realistic adjustments to improve global governance.

He went on to say that The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN is improving regional governance through adoption of the ASEAN Charter, which will begin its implementation next week when foreign ministers meet in Jakarta.

From what I could best tell from the document, the most direct language in the Charter is this, located in the "preamble":

"Committed to intensifying community building through enhanced regional cooperation and integration..."

Ever think we might see charters such as this pop up among states? What about counties... or even cities for that matter? Supposedly we shouldn't need them, but how else can we expect to effect change through regional governance without them? Or at least without some federal mandate calling for them? I think we have a long ways to go...