Forum on Public Policy 1 Global Governance: The Case of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

This paper examines efforts at international cooperation and international organizations ’ role in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing before and after 9/11. Globalization makes it more difficult to effectively address issues requiring global governance within the limits of state/country laws. We employ Robert Keohane’s concept of ―governance dilemma ‖ and Slaughter’s theory of ―government networks ‖ to international efforts to deal with money laundering and terrorist financing. Keohane states that although a world governed by international institutions is beneficial, it posses a threat to our liberty. Slaughter offers a solution to problem in her theory of ―government networks ‖ wherein she states that ―relatively loose, cooperative arrangements across borders ‖ form the basis for post-modern governance. It is often said that global problems require global solutions. Such a framework can promote cooperation among nation states while protecting state sovereignty. Global governance mechanisms involving the state provide a middle ground between the liberal internationalist view that supranational authorities such as the United Nations should formulate rules and regulations for global issues, and the New Medievalists who proclaim the end of the nation state in an age of fragmented governance. It provides a viable alternative to supra-nationalism, which because it robs states of sovereignty often ends up unworkable, and ad hoc efforts of disconnected states, whic