Global governance or world governance is a movement towards political integration of transnational actors aimed at negotiating responses to problems that affect more than one state or region. It tends to involve institutionalization.

These institutions of global governance - the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, the World Bank, etc. In the absence of a global government, the term "Global Governance" refers to how global affairs are governed by regulations and other practices and norms that apply on a global scale. The actors in this process include States, Intergovernmental Organizations, Nongovernmental Organizations, Multinational

Corporations, and other actors that have an impact on how the above actors conduct their affairs.

One given organization, typically an Intergovernmental Organization, takes a lead role on an issue and leads the other actors in achieving consensus and producing agreements that determine how the governance is carried out. These agreements will affect both states and non-state actors (Finkelstein 53). The common understanding of global governance is the framework under which all the said actors need to act in unison for the good of all, but often different actors bring different intentions to the table. One of the defining characteristics of a state is sovereignty: the authority of a state to govern itself.

Under a framework of global governance, however, agreements thrashed out by entities that are not part of a given state are followed and acted upon by states. This threatens or usurps the sovereign authority of the state in governing itself since regulations drafted by "outsiders" are brought to bear and have an impact on the state (Scholte 113).

At the same time, actors such as multinationals, many of whom have more financial clout than many a sovereign state, bring their influence and wishes to carry the day in giving states under the rubric of global governance. This is especially in situations where a state may not ordinarily acquiesce to the wishes of the said multinationals if the engagement was on a one-to-one basis.

 Following World War I The League of Nations was purposed and formed as a frame work to ward off future world wars. This was meant as a forum to resolve disputes before wars start. This organization became the frame work for the United Nations set up as one of the most well known Intergovernmental Organizations today. Through the UN and other organizations global governance is on display.

Global governance is the act of governing or influencing organizations, states and other entities in regards to policies and agreements held. The UN plays a major role in this aspect more so when it comes to security and upholding peace agreements between nations. Governments pledge manpower and equipment support to ongoing missions similar to the peace missions in Kosovo and between Lebanon and Israel. Other major roles include the monitoring the adherence and progress of nations that sign onto accords. One of the major agreements signed by over 200 nations was the Kyoto protocol to limit and reduce the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by countries (USA TODAY,2012).

According to the UN, the Kyoto Protocol is a way of protecting the atmosphere which is listed as one of the global commons shared by all nations on Earth (UN GLOBAL GOVERNANCE, 5,2013). The Kyoto Protocol is an attempt by the world through the UN to protect, conserve and hold each other accountable.

The UN is made up of representatives for most of the nations on Earth however those countries are not bound to follow the statues put in place by the UN. The UN holds no real power to enforce countries to withhold a standard by force. They have no legal authority on sovereign nations soil. They cannot levy penalties or bring an army to force a country to terms with agreements. The accords and agreements monitored by the UN rest entirely on a nation and their willingness to follow the terms. Even with the pressure of multiple nations agreeing to the Kyoto Protocol many nations did not agree or sign the protocol.

Global governance only goes so far on the national stage. The inability to truly hold nations that commit wrong doing or failure to abide by agreements stops short at a nations sovereignty. Nations will not agree to letting an international organization like the UN or other entities to dictate how they will go about daily life. A nations sovereignty will always trump the needs of an entity to perform global governance.