Global Coup d’État: Mapping the Corporate Takeover of Global Governance

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[Music]
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hello and welcome i’m lynn fries
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producer of global political economy
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or gbe news docs today i’m joined by
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nick
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buxton he’s going to be giving us some
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big picture context on the great
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reset a world economic forum initiative
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to reset the world
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system of global governance a worldwide
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movement crossing not only borders but
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all walks of life
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from peasant farmers to techies is
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fighting against this initiative on the
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grounds that it represents a major
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threat
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to democracy key voices from the health
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food education indigenous people and
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high
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tech movements explained why in the
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great
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takeover how we fight the davos capture
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of global governance a recent webinar
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hosted by the transnational
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institute today’s guest nick buxton
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is a publications editor and future labs
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coordinator
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at the transnational institute he’s the
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founder
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and chief editor of tni’s flagship
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state of power report welcome nick
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thank you very much liam nick the
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transnational
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institute was was co-organizer of the
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great takeover webinar so what is it
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that you’re
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mobilizing against uh in opposing this
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great
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reset initiative what we’re really
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concerned about is
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this initiative by the world economic
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forum
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actually looks to entrench the power of
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those most responsible for the crises
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we’re facing
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um and in in many ways it’s a trick it’s
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a sleight of hand
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uh to make sure that things continue as
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they are
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to continue the same and that will
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create more of these crises more of
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these pandemics will
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deepen the climate crisis which will
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deepen inequality
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and it’s not a great reset at all it’s a
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great corporate takeover
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and that’s what we were trying to draw
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attention to what we’ve been finding
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in in recent years is that um really
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there is
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something i would call it a kind of a
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global
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silent coup d’etat going on in terms of
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global governance
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most people don’t see it and people are
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familiar have become familiar with the
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way that corporations
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have far more influence and are being
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integrated into policy-making and
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national level
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they see that more more in front of them
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people see their services being
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privatized
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and they see the influence of the oil
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companies or the banking sector that has
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stopped
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actions such as regulations of banks or
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are dealing with the climate crisis what
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people don’t realize is at a global
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level
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there has been something much more
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silent going on which is that their
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governance which used to be by nations
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is now increasingly be done by
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unaccountable bodies
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dominated by corporations and part of
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the problem is that that has been
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happening in lots of different
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sectors but people haven’t been
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connecting the dots
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so what we’ve been trying to do in the
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last year is to talk with
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people in the health movement for
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example people involved in
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public education people involved
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in food sector to say what what is
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happening in your sector and what we
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found is that in each of these sectors
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global decisions were used to be
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discussed by bodies such as the wh
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o or such as the food and agriculture
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organization
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were increasingly done by these these
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unaccountable bodies
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and just to give an example uh we have
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now the global pandemic and one of the
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key bodies that is now making the
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decision
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is is a facility called kovacs you’d
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have thought
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global health should be run by the world
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health organization it’s accountable to
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the united nations
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it has a system of accountability well
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what’s actually happening is that world
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health organization
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is just one of a few partners that
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really
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has been controlled by corporations and
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corporate interests
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in this case is gavi and sepi and they
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are both bodies which which don’t have a
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system of accountability
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where it’s not clear who chose them who
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they’re accountable to
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or how they can be held to account and
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what we do see is that there’s a lot of
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corporate influence in each of these
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bodies
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what this webinar was about was bringing
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all these sectors together
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who are seeing this silent coup d’etat
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going on
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in their own sector to map it out and so
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one of the things that you’ll
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have seen in the in the webinar is is
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this mapping of the different sectors
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who are um who are seeing this going on
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and the
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idea is just to give a global picture
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that this is something happening we’ve
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had
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we’ve had more than a hundred of these
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um of these mult they’re called
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multi-stakeholder bodies
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uh coming to coming to the fore in the
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last 20 years
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um and and there’s been very little kind
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of taking note of that and taking stock
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of what’s emerging
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and what’s emerging is this silent
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global coup d’etat
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so what you find then in the big picture
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that you’re getting
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is that a global coup d’etat has been
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silently emerging and at the heart of it
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is a move
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towards multi-stakeholder model of
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global governance and
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that this is the model that’s the path
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and mechanism
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of a corporate hijack of global and
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national governance
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structures and the world economic forum
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agenda fits into all this is the wef of
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course is
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one of the world’s most powerful
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multi-stakeholder institutions
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so nick in explaining what all this
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means let’s start with some of your
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thoughts
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on the history of how we got here
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i think what we had was in the 90s was
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the kind of height of neoliberalism we
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had
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we had um the increasing role of
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corporations as
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and the deregulation of the state and it
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really started to come through in 2000
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with the global compact
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and where the un invited in uh you know
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corporations and the idea was that we’re
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going to need to involve corporations
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one because
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we will need private finance became the
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kind of motto
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the mantra so we need to involve
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corporations they can be part of the
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solution so it was
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partly financed it was partly the
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withdrawal of state
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from kind of global cooperation um
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and and that started to invite
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corporations into the global government
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where corporations were increasingly um
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being invited into these kind of bodies
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that dovetailed with this whole movement
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um called
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the corporate social responsibility that
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sid corporations
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weren’t just profit-making vehicles they
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could be socially responsible
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actors um and and so increasingly
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corporations were pitching themselves as
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as not just um corporate entities but as
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global citizens
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um and and one of the key vehicles for
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that of course is the world economic
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forum which has
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really been articulating
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through klaus schwab and through their
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whole and through their whole
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work uh this idea that’s that
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corporations
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should firstly be social responsible and
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secondly as part of that they should be
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treated
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as social entities and should be
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integrated into governance and decision
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making
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that we needed to move from what was
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considered an
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antiquated state-led
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multilateral approach to a much more
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agile governance system
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and this is again the kind of mantra of
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coming in of the private sector being
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efficient
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that the private sector if you involve
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them in decision making
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you would get more faster decisions you
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get agile decisions you’d get better
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decisions
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and so this all really came together um
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and and
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in in some ways it’s even being
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consolidated even further
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the irony is that as as you’ve had
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nationalist governments come to power
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that the kind of trump america firsts of
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the world or modi
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india first they articulate a
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nationalist agenda but they haven’t
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actually questioned the role of
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corporations in any way whatsoever
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and as as they’ve retreated from
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multilateral forums like the united
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nations
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they’ve left a vacuum that corporations
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have been able to fill
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corporations now say we can be the
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global actors we can be the responsible
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actors
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we’re the ones who consort to tackle the
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big crisis we face such as inequality
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such as climate change
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um such as the pandemic and so so really
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this
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this we’ve had this convergence of
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forces coming together
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where as states have retreated um
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corporations have filled the vacuum
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you mentioned earlier that the world
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economic forum was one of the key
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vehicles for these
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ideas and the wef also went big in
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filling that vacuum that you’re talking
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about
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tni reported the wef global redesign
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initiative
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stretching back to 2009 created
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something like
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40 global agenda councils and industry
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sector bodies so in the sphere of global
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governance the wef
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created space for corporate actors
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across the whole spectrum
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of governance issues from cyber security
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to climate change you name it
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so yeah the global redesign initiative
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was one of the first initiatives that
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the world economic forum launched
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in the wake of the financial crisis um
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and their idea was that we needed to
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replace what was
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uh an inefficient um multilateral system
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that was not able to solve problems
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with a new form of things so they were
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saying instead of a multilateral where
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nations make decisions in global
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cooperation
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we needed a multi-stakeholder approach
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which would bring together
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all the interested parties in small
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groups
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to make decisions and the global
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redesign initiative was really a model
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of that they were trying
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to say okay how do we resolve um
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issues such as the governance of the
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digital economy
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and their answer to it is we bring the
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big tech companies together we bring the
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governments together and we bring a few
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civil society players
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and we’ll work out a system that makes
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that makes sense
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um and and so you had a similar thing
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going on in all these other redesigned
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councils really their models
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for how they think governments should be
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done and some of them have not just
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become models they’ve actually become
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the real thing
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so many of the multi-stakeholder
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initiatives we’ve seen emerge today
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have emerged out of some of these
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councils
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um the coalition for epidemic
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preparedness one of the key ones leading
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kovacs right now the response to the
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pandemic was launched at the world
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economic forum so the world economic
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forum is now becoming a launch pad for
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many of these
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multi-stakeholder bodies we should also
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note the world economic forum is a
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very well funded launch pad as
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a powerpoint from the great takeover
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webinar put it
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corporations do not pay tax but donate
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to multi-stakeholder institutions and
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the wef of course
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is funded by powerful corporations and
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business leaders
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the powerpoint also noted the bill and
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melinda gates foundation is one of the
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main funders of multi-stakeholder
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institutions
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in contrast multilateral institutions
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are being
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defunded on the back of falling
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corporate tax revenues
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for nation states given it depends on
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government donors the
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u.n regular budget that’s the backbone
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of funding for the one country one vote
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multilateral
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processes of intergovernmental
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cooperation and decision making
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has taken a big hit perhaps you could
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comment on some big picture implications
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on this kind of
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changing dynamic that’s going on between
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corporate actors and nation states
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yeah yeah i think i think what we’re
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seeing is that the
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um as gradually the corporations have
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become more powerful
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they they have weakened the capacity of
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the state
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so they have reduced the tax basis you
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know most corporations have seen
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corporate tax rates drop
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forward dramatically and even more
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trillions are now siphoned away in tax
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havens
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so the the entire corporate tax base
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which used to play a much bigger role in
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state funding has reduced um at the same
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time
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they they their influence over policies
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which benefit corporations
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has increased so they’re reducing the
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regulations that were on them they’re
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reducing all the costs that used to be
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opposed
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on the things so you’ve had a weakening
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of the state and the strengthening of
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corporations
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and what’s happened at a global
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governance level is that they have also
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moved
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not just from influencing dramatically
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through their power
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their economic power political decision
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making
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but in an easy global governance thing
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it’s the next step forward because
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they’re not just saying
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that we want to be considered and we
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will lobby to have our position heard
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they’re saying
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we want to actually be part of the
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decision-making bodies themselves
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um and the classic again is if we look
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at the pandemic with kovacs
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is that um what i looked actually at
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just at the board of
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gavi the the global alliance of vaccines
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um if you look at the body it’s the
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board is dominated firstly
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by big pharmaceutical companies um
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secondly you have some nations and some
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and
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civil society representatives but you
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have far more
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interest in the almost half a large
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number of the board
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are financiers they come from the
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finance sector they come from big banks
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um so they’re they’re i don’t know what
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they have to do with public health
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um and wh show is just one of the
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players so it’s it’s suddenly over
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crowded by others who have no um
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public health representation they’ve
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been dominated by finance and
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pharmaceutical companies
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starting to really shape and guide um
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decision-making
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and and on the finance side of course
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bill gates foundation
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has is now the big player in many of
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these things and it’s
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it’s it’s not just donating it’s also
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involved now in shaping policy
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so those who give money um in a
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philanthropic way
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no matter how they earn that money or no
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matter what their
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remit is and who they’re accountable to
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they’re only accountable to the
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to to bill and melinda gates um
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ultimately are now part of the decision
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making process as well
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and this has become so normalized that
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there seems to be very little
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questioning of it
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and we will bring together these players
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now who chose them
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who who chose this body to come together
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who’s it accountable to
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there was a british parliamentarian
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called tony ben he says if you want to
understand democracy you need to ask
five questions
  1. what what power do you have
  2. who did you get it from
  3. whose interest do you serve
  4. to whom are you accountable and
  5. how can we get rid of you
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if you look at a body that such as
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kovacs um
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who who where did they get the power
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from they just self-convened
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they just brought together a group of
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powerful actors
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they will make a token effort to involve
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one or two civil society representatives
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but the power very much lies with with
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the corporations
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and and with the financiers those who
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are financing it
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and it’s not accountable they chose
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their body
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uh if the interests are very clear who
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it serves it clear
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it serves the pharmaceutical companies
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they will of course do certain things
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um within the remit um but ultimately
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they will not undermine their best
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business
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model even if that business model is
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getting in the way of an effective
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response to the
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pandemic we can’t get rid of them
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because we never chose them in the first
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place
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so it fails really the very fundamental
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principles of democracy
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and yet it’s now been normalized that
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this is the way that global governance
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should happen
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nick comment briefly on an agreement
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that was quite a milestone
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in this process of normalization of
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multi-stakeholderism
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as the way global governance should
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happen i’m thinking
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of the uh strategic partnership
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agreement signed
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by the office of the un secretary
16:29
general with the world economic forum in
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2019.
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so what’s some background in your
16:35
response to that
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uh un-w-e-f agreement
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well the world economic forum has been
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um advocating this mod
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model of multi-stakeholder capitalism to
16:47
replace multilateralism for a long time
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and and they have been um gradually
16:54
i would say kind of setting up parallel
16:56
bodies these multi-stakeholder bodies to
16:58
make decisions
17:00
um on major issues of global governance
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whether it’s the digital economy or
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whether it’s
17:04
how to respond to a a pandemic
17:08
um and and so they’ve they’ve been
17:10
advancing this model
17:11
um alongside the un for some time but
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what what was really concerning to us is
17:16
that they’re starting
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to increasingly um
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engage with the un and start to impose
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this and start to push this model within
17:27
the united nations
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and the classic example was this
17:31
strategic partnership which was signed
17:33
in
17:33
i believe june of 2019
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i don’t think it went even in front of
17:38
the general assembly so it wasn’t
17:40
discussed amongst the members it was a
17:42
decision
17:43
by the secretariat of the un without any
17:46
at least any
17:46
formal systems of accountability to sign
17:49
a deal with the world economic forum
17:51
that would essentially in start to
17:53
involve you
17:55
world economic forum staff within the
17:58
departments of the un
17:59
they would become so-called kind of
18:01
whisper advisors that
18:02
the world economic forum would start to
18:05
have its staff mingling with un staff
18:07
and starting to make decisions
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um and there was no system of
18:10
accountability there was no system of
18:12
of um of consulting more widely
18:16
and and we know the world economic forum
18:19
is is this business forum if you look at
18:21
its board it’s completely controlled
18:23
uh by by some of the most wealthy and
18:26
powerful corporations and many of those
18:27
corporations
18:29
are responsible for many of the crises
18:31
we face and yet here they were being
18:32
open
18:33
open armed and welcomed into the united
18:37
nations to play a very significant role
18:38
and
18:39
and we we protested that we said that
18:42
this is not
18:43
this is not a way to solve global
18:45
problems to involve those who have
18:47
actually responsible for the crisis to
18:48
resolve it
18:50
will only lead to solutions that are
18:51
either ineffective or actually deepen
18:53
the crises we face
18:55
um we understand why the u.n is doing it
18:57
it’s because of this
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lack of national support is because of
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the defunding
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they’re looking to kind of survive as an
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organization and they’re going to the
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most powerful players in the world which
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are the corporations
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but what they’re going to end up doing
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is as ultimately undermined in the
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united nations it will actually
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damage the united nations because it
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will remove all the democratic
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legitimacy that it currently has
19:20
we desperately need global collaboration
19:23
and cooperation
19:24
but it must be based on public and
19:26
democratic systems of governance
19:29
not um unaccountable secretive forms of
19:32
governance dominated by corporations
19:35
so that’s pretty clear you oppose
19:38
multi-stakeholderism because it’s an
19:40
unaccountable
19:41
secretive form of governance dominated
19:44
by corporations
19:45
so as well as being unaccountable the
19:49
multi-stakeholder model is a voluntary
19:52
and a market-based approach to problem
19:55
solving
19:56
comment on how that also uh fits into
19:59
why you oppose the multi-stakeholderism
20:03
yeah the the solutions they’re looking
20:05
for are volunteeristic
20:07
where you can come in or out and they’re
20:09
market-based
20:10
so they will never actually challenge
20:12
the business model as it is ultimately
20:14
what happens is that they make decisions
20:16
which are not binding and actually force
20:19
actors like corporations to do certain
20:21
things
20:22
they’re based entirely on this voluntary
20:23
meth model um but it’s a kind of to take
20:26
it or leave it governance where you can
20:28
do things that you
20:29
that look good for your for your annual
20:31
report
20:32
but don’t actually change the way you
20:36
actually operate
20:37
um and so ultimately they won’t resolve
20:39
the crisis that we’re facing
20:41
so it’s not just that they’re
20:42
unaccountable but they’re actually
20:44
ultimately very ineffective so if we
20:45
look at the climate crisis for example
20:47
we’ll say
20:48
the only way that we can deal with the
20:50
climate crisis is market solutions
20:52
even if we know that really the scale of
20:55
the climate crisis the urgency
20:57
and the timing requires us to take much
20:59
more drastic solutions which will be
21:01
state-led which will require
21:02
corporations to reduce emissions
21:04
and that will start to transform
21:06
economies um
21:08
that will have to be taken these kind of
21:10
public decisions
21:12
we’re ignoring that entirely for a model
21:14
which is based on of market
21:15
incentives which really do nothing to
21:18
change the business model that has
21:19
created the climate crisis
21:21
okay so that goes a long way in
21:22
explaining why you say the world
21:24
economic forum great
21:25
reset initiative is no reset at all
21:29
nick briefly touch on some of your
21:31
further observations
21:33
like why is the multi-stakeholder model
21:36
is based on
21:37
market solutions when push comes to
21:41
shove
21:42
the profit motive will always win out
21:45
under this
21:45
approach to global governance yeah no
21:48
absolutely i mean corporations will
21:50
accept market solutions which give them
21:52
the power
21:53
to uh to really control the pace of
21:56
change
21:56
and so you’ll see it they’re very happy
21:58
to to produce these corporate social
22:00
responsibility reports but
22:02
they will fight tooth and nail for any
22:04
regulation which actually enforces
22:06
social environmental goals and so and
22:09
they will
22:10
fight on an international level to have
22:13
trade rules to actually
22:14
prevent states imposing social
22:17
environmental goals
22:19
so so there’s very much an approach
22:21
where they’re willing to have
22:22
been washed they’re willing to have the
22:24
propaganda around social environmental
22:26
goals but they will absolutely oppose
22:29
and in any rules would actually
22:32
control their their environmental and
22:34
social impacts
22:36
they do not want anything which actually
22:38
requires regulation
22:40
and and impacts which will actually
22:42
force them to do certain changes they
22:44
want their changes to be very much ones
22:46
that they
22:47
control and which they shape and
22:48
ultimately that they can ditch
22:51
at the moment it starts to challenge the
22:53
profits that they want to make
22:55
let’s turn now to the coalition in
22:58
in fighting for a democratic reset
23:01
on uh global governance so a future
23:04
where decision making over the
23:06
governance of global commons like
23:08
for example food water health and the
23:11
internet
23:12
is is done in the public interest and i
23:15
see this
23:16
coalition put together resources and
23:18
it’s posted on your website
23:19
you’re in the nexus of all this so this
23:21
time around in the wake
23:23
of the covet pandemic what’s your read
23:27
on the situation
23:28
of peoples versus corporate power
23:31
this global coup d’etat that’s been
23:34
going on silently in so many different
23:36
sectors has been advancing because there
23:39
hasn’t been enough information and
23:41
knowledge about it
23:42
and also people haven’t been connecting
23:44
the dots to see this is happening in
23:45
every sector
23:47
so what’s really important this year in
23:49
as
23:50
as and i think it’s particularly
23:52
important in the wake of the pandemic is
23:54
that
23:54
so many movements are coming together um
23:57
people’s health movement
23:59
has come together a lot of groups
24:01
involved in food sovereignty uh the
24:04
trade union sector
24:05
coming together they’re all saying uh we
24:08
do this
24:08
this is not in our name um and of course
24:11
these are all groups that you’ll never
24:12
see
24:13
in a in a multi-stakeholder initiative
24:16
whenever they do have civil society
24:18
partners they don’t involve people on
24:19
the front lines you won’t find one
24:23
health union worker in in the kovacs
24:27
initiative you won’t have public health
24:29
people really represented
24:31
represented so these are movements now
24:33
starting to come together to say that we
24:35
don’t want this and
24:36
one of the things we did was launch this
24:38
letter it’s an open letter and it’s
24:40
really saying that
24:41
it’s really alerting people to what’s
24:43
going on it’s saying that we’re facing
24:46
this
24:46
in so many different sectors uh the un
24:49
is is opening the door the un secretary
24:52
i should say is opening the door wide
24:54
open
24:55
uh to the world economic forum which is
24:57
the key body advancing
24:58
multi-stakeholders
25:01
and and it’s changing governance as we
25:03
know it it’s
25:04
and it has no systems of accountability
25:06
or justice embedded in it
25:08
and these movements are now coming
25:09
together to say we we’re
25:11
we’re opposing this we’re uniting our
25:13
forces
25:14
and we’re going to fight back against
25:16
this we know
25:18
more than ever before with the pandemic
25:20
that nationalist
25:21
solutions to the global crisis will not
25:25
work we need global cooperation we need
25:27
global collaboration
25:29
but if we hand over all that decision
25:31
making to the pharmaceutical companies
25:34
for example we won’t be dealing with the
25:36
real issues
25:38
such as as trade protection and trips
25:42
and i um patents and everything that
25:45
that really benefit pharmaceutical
25:47
companies and don’t advance public
25:48
health because they
25:49
are in control of the process they won’t
25:51
allow things that affect their profits
25:54
so we need global solutions but they
25:55
cannot be led by the corporations
25:58
which are actually worsening deepening
25:59
the crisis we face
26:02
so as we close i just wanted to play a
26:04
clip of a comment
26:06
you made back in 2015 about a book you
26:09
had co-edited
26:11
titled the secure and was dispossessed i
26:14
found a review of the book
26:15
so relevant to our chat today i just
26:17
want to cite a few lines
26:19
it said among the books that attempt to
26:21
model
26:22
the coming century this one stands out
26:25
for its sense of plausibility
26:27
and danger it examines several current
26:30
trends in our responses
26:32
to climate change which if combined
26:34
would result in a kind of oligarchic
26:37
police state dedicated to extending
26:40
capitalist hegemony this will not work
26:43
and yet powerful forces are advocating
26:46
for it rather than imagining and working
26:48
for
26:49
a more just resilient and democratic way
26:52
forward
26:53
all the processes analyzed here are
26:55
already
26:56
happening now making this book
26:59
a crucial contribution to our cognitive
27:02
mapping
27:03
in our ability to form a better plan
27:06
so nick in wrapping up briefly comment
27:10
on that book
27:11
and then uh play the clip yeah back in
27:14
2011 we noticed a trend going on in
27:17
terms of climate change where there was
27:19
was
27:20
was a lack of willingness to really
27:22
tackle the climate crisis on the scale
27:24
it needs and with the
27:25
with the with the tools and instruments
27:28
that it needs
27:29
but there was increasingly uh plans by
27:32
both
27:33
the military and corporations for
27:35
dealing with the impacts of climate
27:37
change
27:38
um and they very much looked at it in
27:41
terms of how do we
27:43
secure the wealth of those and secure
27:45
those who already have power and wealth
27:48
um and and and what that would mean so
27:51
in the face of climate crisis
27:53
the solution was very much a security
27:55
solution we’ve already seen
27:57
really an increasing role of military
28:00
and policing
28:01
and security and the real process
28:04
of militarization of responses to
28:06
climate change the most obviously in the
28:08
area of the borders
28:09
we see we see border walls going up
28:12
everywhere
28:13
the response to a crisis has been has
28:16
been to kind of retreat between behind
28:18
fortified fortifications no matter the
28:20
consequences
28:22
um and so that that was really that’s
28:25
that’s really a trend that we
28:26
that we see increasingly is that climate
28:29
our response to climate adaptation by
28:30
the richest
28:31
countries is really to military to
28:33
militarize our response to it
28:36
and that’s that’s a and that’s a real as
28:38
as that quote you just read
28:40
that’s a real concern because um it’s
28:43
the kind of politics of the armed
28:45
lifeboat
28:46
um where basically you rescue a few and
28:48
then you
28:50
and then you have a gun trained on the
28:52
rest
28:53
and it’s it’s both totally immoral and
28:55
it’s also ultimately
28:57
one that will sacrifice all of our
28:59
humanity because
29:01
we need to collaborate to respond to the
29:03
climate crisis we need to find solutions
29:05
that protect the vulnerable
29:07
we cannot just keep building higher and
29:09
higher walls
29:10
against the consequences of our
29:11
decisions and we need to actually start
29:13
to tackle the root causes of those
29:16
crises and that that was very much
29:19
a picture we started to paint back in
29:21
2015 with the launch of the book the
29:23
secure and the dispossessed
29:25
but if anything it’s more pertinent and
29:27
more pressing than ever before
29:30
nick paxton thank you thanks
29:36
keeping the profits the huge profits
29:38
rolling um even though it’s wrecking the
29:41
planet so they have no intention long
29:42
term
29:43
of changing their business model their
29:45
business model is wrecking the planet
29:47
and their determination is how to keep
29:49
that going and what we see in all of
29:51
this is that
29:52
corporations in the military are very
29:53
much responding
29:55
in a in a paradigm of control it’s it’s
29:58
security
29:59
and this word security suddenly infected
30:01
every part of
30:02
daily debate we see it food security
30:05
we’ve seen it really recently now with
30:07
everyone saying we need
30:08
security of our borders to protect
30:09
against refugees we need water security
30:12
and in all of these cases what you see
30:15
is those who are being secured
30:17
are the corporations and those who have
30:20
wealth
30:21
and those who are losing out are those
30:22
who are actually suffering the most from
30:24
climate change
30:25
so the peasant who has their land
30:27
grabbed in the name of food security
30:30
the community that no longer has control
30:32
of their river
30:33
because a corporation has has taken it
30:36
in the name of
30:36
water security all the protesters
30:39
against coal power station are actually
30:40
trying to stop the climate crisis
30:42
being repressed and having the civil
30:45
liberties taken away in the name of
30:47
energy security
30:49
in each of these cases the security is
30:51
quite clearly
30:52
for a small proportion of people and
30:55
insecurity
30:56
for the vast majority i think this is
30:58
one of the most important issues of our
31:00
age is
31:01
is do we want to leave our future in the
31:04
hands of corporations in the military