Is World Government Possible?

Abstract

This paper critically interrogates the concept of world government through an African philosophical lens, contending that while the idea of a unified global political authority has been historically valorised as a solution to international conflict, inequality, and fragmentation, it remains ethically untenable without prior global justice. Drawing on postcolonial African humanism and the principles of restorative justice, the study contends that unresolved historical injustices—particularly slavery, colonialism, institutional racism, and genocide—compromise the moral viability and practical legitimacy of any proposed world government. These historical atrocities have fractured the ideal of a common humanity, thereby rendering global unity a premature ambition without prior ethical reconciliation. The paper critiques classical and contemporary arguments for world government and counters with a proposal for a World Tribunal of Truth and Reconciliation. This tribunal, conceived as a non-punitive, restorative mechanism, would facilitate global acknowledgement of past injustices, promote truth-telling, and recommend reparative actions. By grounding its arguments in African philosophical traditions such as Ubuntu, the paper challenges Eurocentric frameworks that have historically underpinned notions of global governance. It further argues that meaningful political integration must be preceded by moral integration—a shared commitment to historical truth, human equality, and collective responsibility. Without such foundational justice, a world government risks reproducing the very hierarchies and exclusions it purports to overcome. The work thus contributes a critical voice to global political theory, proposing that the path toward legitimate world governance lies not through coercive unification, but through deliberate, historically conscious efforts at ethical reconstitution. In doing so, the paper calls for a reorientation of global political imagination—one that sees truth, memory, and reconciliation not as distractions from progress, but as its indispensable preconditions.