Rethinking trust and democracy in international governance

Northumbria University is spearheading a major international research initiative that explores how people have related to international organisations over the past century – and how these relationships can inform today's pressing global challenges.

Led by historian Professor Daniel Laqua, the project “Global Governance, Trust and Democratic Engagement in Past and Present” (GLO) is part of the Trans-Atlantic Platform for the Social Sciences and Humanities (T-AP), a groundbreaking collaboration between research funders from South America, North America, Europe and Africa.

The GLO project is led by academics from Northumbria University (UK), the University of Waterloo (Canada), the Graduate Institute Geneva (Switzerland) and the University of Chicago (USA) and also includes team members from Durham University (UK) and Leiden University (Netherlands).

Together, they tackle a timely and complex issue – how people perceive and interact with global institutions such as the United Nations, European Union, African Union, International Monetary Fund, and a host of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

These institutions were designed to address international problems, but they have often been criticised, from across the political spectrum, for feeling remote and unaccountable.

“Many global organisations were founded on ideals of cooperation and representation, yet there’s been longstanding tension between those ideals and people’s actual experiences,” said Professor Laqua, a historian within Northumbria University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

“GLO looks at how civil society groups and individuals engaged with, or challenged, these bodies, and what this history tells us about trust, democracy and governance today.”

By investigating civil society campaigns, lobbying efforts, and grassroots activism – from early 20th-century international women’s movements to Amnesty International and Greenpeace – GLO will explore how global institutions have been sites of both democratic opportunity and contestation.

The project takes a long view, tracing engagement from the League of Nations and the creation of the International Labour Organization after World War I, through to the United Nations and more recent campaigns such as Jubilee 2000.

In doing so, it uncovers recurring patterns and shifts in how people sought to influence global governance, often turning to international platforms when domestic political avenues were blocked.

GLO’s two core lines of enquiry are:

• How civil society movements have pushed for the creation, reform or even abolition of global institutions.
• How these groups have sought to enlist international bodies in support of domestic or transnational causes, revealing both faith in and frustration with global mechanisms.

The project’s outputs will include a co-authored book incorporating insights from Africa, South Asia, East Asia and the Caribbean, as well as academic journal articles and a collection of essays on proposals for global governance reform.

The first GLO workshop took place in April 2025, hosted by the Canadian project partners at the University of Waterloo, taking place at the Balsillie School of International Affairs.

Entitled Global Governance Reform: Perspectives from the Twentieth Century, the two-day event discussed different ways in which existing forms of international order were being critiqued, and future alternatives envisaged.

In October 2025, Northumbria University hosted a public-facing workshop in Newcastle, connecting researchers with representatives from community groups, NGOs and local governments to examine how global issues intersect with local concerns.

One month later, team members also ran interactive workshop activities with NGO representatives in Brussels.

In January this year, the US project partner at the University of Chicago held an event at the Chicago Center on Democracy, bringing together political scientists, sociologists and historians to explore The International Dynamics of Democratic Backsliding.

Participants considered international factors that contribute to democratic erosion in different countries, as well as the consequences of these developments for the international order.

Next week, the Geneva Graduate Institute will host the latest project conference, an event dedicated to Love, Hate, and the Fate of International Institutions, in cooperation with the Pierre du Bois Foundation.

“We want to challenge the idea that international governance is something distant or abstract,” said Professor Laqua. “Instead, we aim to reflect on how global challenges are felt and acted upon locally.”

The UK-based component of the project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) with a grant of £323,961, with the overall GLO project valued at £800,000 and supported by funders in the four participating countries.

The project’s website offers regular updates, resources, and findings as the research progresses.