Former UN Official Says Mideast Uprisings Long Overdue

Mark Malloch-Brown has been involved in international affairs for more than three decades.
The former journalist-turned-economist served as vice¹ president of the World Bank before being named Deputy Secretary General and U.N. Chief of Staff under Kofi Annan. In that position, he drew controversy² for his outspoken³ criticism of the Bush Administration's Iraq policy and what he called its "UN bashing."
Now out of public and political office, Malloch-Brown has written a book, "The Unfinished Global Revolution: The Pursuit of a New International Politics."
Tidal wave
Millions of demonstrators filled the streets of Cairo and other cities around the Arab world recently, voicing their opposition⁴ to the old order, corruption⁵, inequality and the lack of freedom.
As a former UN official who helped draft the first "Arab Human Development Report" a decade ago, Malloch-Brown says the tidal wave is long overdue⁶.
"The economy was not creating the jobs that the increasingly young inspirational Arab youth wanted," he says. "That was a hugely popular message, which really touched a chord across the coffee shops and souks and streets of the Arab World, yet the regimes were deaf to this."
Now, he says, the international community has an important role to play as citizens in these countries begin building more democratic political systems.
"In many countries, you would never get successful development, if you didn't have democracy," he says. "Unless the poor have a vote, have a voice in the affairs of their country, they would never get a fair deal from the country's rulers they needed. That kind of accountability comes from democracy. So I think it's hugely important for the international community to provide that support now. They need to do it with a certain modesty⁷ and humility⁸ which acknowledges that, for years, it has been on the side of stability not democracy. Our job is to help them with the modern tools, let's say technical assistance to allow Egyptians, Tunisians and others to build their own democracy."
However, moving a nation towards democracy is challenging.
"More often than not, what unites people at the beginning is the common enemy, the regime of Mubarak for example, who they want to see go. But once he's gone, all these groups have very different economic and political agendas. I'm sure we will see initially⁹ a very bumpy¹⁰ ride. It will take time to get a decent constitution in place. It will take time for proper parties to form and for elections to produce the kind of coherent results, which will allow a strong reformist government to take office with a clear democratic mandate¹¹ behind it."
'Unfinished Global Revolution'
In his new book, "The Unfinished Global Revolution," Malloch-Brown shares his experiences as both witness to and participant in the process of democratization and globalization. Part autobiography¹², part political tract¹³ and part history, the book also offers a vision for the future, in an increasingly globalized world.
"You could no longer just - within the national boundaries of your own country - fix and manage your banking¹⁴ sector¹⁵," he says. "Your banking sector was intimately linked with global banks. And unless they too were regulated, you couldn't protect your banks against the storms of the financial crisis. Similarly, the public health of your people is no longer just a national issue. We saw it with the way, two years now, the flu strain started in Mexico, but came through Kennedy Airport and other air connections straight to the U.S. and from there quickly spread across the world."
He says the world needs to find global solutions to what are global issues.
"National governments have to learn how to arrive at those solutions, how to share a little bit of each other's sovereignty and negotiate and compromise to find global public policy solutions," he says. "This isn't easy. National governments are very protective."
But, he says, that does not mean the world needs a global government.
"The last thing you want to do is create some global government version of the national governments, some great, big, unaccountable edifice¹⁶. I don't believe in that at all."
To complete the global revolution, Malloch-Brown says the world needs to redefine the U.N.'s role and involve voices from a broad range of civil society.
"What I've seen in my career is all global problems, which have been successfully tackled in recent years, it's not just been states that have done it. It's usually been because a bunch of social activists¹⁷ from non-governmental community, foundation chiefs, business leaders and others have joined in to drive policy forward."
Malloch-Brown challenges private citizens everywhere to play a role in the global revolution and become a force for change.

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

3 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

6 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

7 modesty   

n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素

参考例句：

• Industry and modesty are the chief factors of his success.勤奋和谦虚是他成功的主要因素。
• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。

8 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

11 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

12 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

13 tract   

n.传单，小册子，大片(土地或森林)

参考例句：

• He owns a large tract of forest.他拥有一大片森林。
• He wrote a tract on this subject.他曾对此写了一篇短文。

14 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

15 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

16 edifice   

n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室)

参考例句：

• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。
• There is a huge Victorian edifice in the area.该地区有一幢维多利亚式的庞大建筑物。

17 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》