People’s Pact and Future Summit
Andreas is quoted in this report on the People’s Pact for the Future and in this IPS report on the upcoming UN Summit of the Future
Governance and Democracy in the 21st Century
by Andreas Bummel & Jo Leinen
A book on the history, relevance and implementation of a monumental idea.
“This study is now established as the standard work on the idea of a world parliament.” — Frank Biermann
Second updated and expanded edition
July 2024
Donate to Democracy Without Borders to support the work on global democracy
Andreas Bummel is best known for his advocacy of a world parliament.
He is co-founder and Executive Director of Democracy Without Borders and the Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly. He is also one of the founders and convenors of the campaign for inclusive global governance, “We The Peoples”.
His book “A World Parliament: Governance and Democracy in the 21st Century” (with Jo Leinen) is the first to provide a comprehensive overview of this vision and project. An updated and expanded edition was published in 2024.
Since 2023, Andreas is championing the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur on Democracy.
Andreas was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1976 and moved with his family to a town close to Frankfurt am Main in West Germany at the age of six. As a child he was terrified by the possibility of all-out nuclear war between East and West that seemed all too real. The victory over apartheid in South Africa and the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, left a deep emotional impression on him.
Feeling as a global citizen and horrified by the inability of the United Nations to stop the genocides in Bosnia from 1992 on and in Rwanda in 1994, he became involved with the World Federalist Movement, WFM, an international non-governmental organization that was established in 1947 and which is devoted to strengthening of the global rule of law and democracy. One of WFM’s prime objectives was the creation of the International Criminal Court. From 1995 to 2021 the organization has been running the international NGO coalition working on creating and strengthening the court. Andreas served on WFM’s council from 1998-2018.
In 1997, Andreas became involved with the Society for Threatened Peoples, STP, one of Germany’s largest human rights organizations. STP was one of the first groups that called for international action to stop the genocide and “ethnic cleansing” in Bosnia. The organization advocates the cause of minorities throughout the world. From 1998 until 2008 Andreas served as an advisor on UN issues. In 2009 as well as from 2017-2019 he was a board member.
Together with a group of world federalists Andreas established the Committee for a Democratic United Nations, KDUN, in 2003. According to the Committee’s founding declaration, the members “are united in the vision of a world in which the rule of law, democracy, subsidiarity, federalism, human rights and peace are globally institutionalized and guaranteed.”
In 2007, KDUN together with numerous partners around the world launched the international Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly, CUNPA, that has been supported by over 1,600 members of parliament from over 120 countries. As the Campaign’s coordinator, Andreas among other things organized the international meetings on a UN Parliamentary Assembly that were held in 2007 in Geneva, 2008 in Brussels, 2009 in New York, 2010 in Buenos Aires, and 2013 again in Brussels.
From 2001-2006 Andreas worked as an analyst at the management consultancy firm FutureManagementGroup, FMG. Previously, he was trained in business administration and worked at the global pharmaceutical group Hoechst which today is part of the Sanofi-Aventis group. The department he worked at was responsible for the group’s quality management.
Apart from his work and his other activities, Andreas enrolled in the Law School of the University of Mainz and specialized in international law and corporate law.
In 2001 and 2002 he was a scholar of the Deutsche Studienstiftung which sponsors students of outstanding academic achievements. However, Andreas eventually abandoned university without graduation in order to concentrate on his political work. Since 2006, he is a full-time political activist devoted to the cause of global democracy and world federalism.
In 2015 the Society for Threatened Peoples awarded him the association’s honorary membership. He is a member of the advisory board of the World Government Research Network, WGRN, that was launched in the same year and aims to advance the academic dialogue on global political integration.
Image: Wikimedia Commons/Filberbirb
Under the leadership of Andreas KDUN merged into Democracy Without Borders, DWB, in 2017. In addition to advocating a world parliament, the international organization is committed to the promotion of global citizenship and democracy in general.
Andreas is a co-founder of the Campaign for a UN World Citizens’ Initiative, see here, that DWB launched in collaboration with Democracy International and CIVICUS in 2019. In 2021, this collaboration resulted in the international civil society call for inclusive global governance that was endorsed by leading groups from across the world. It is now know as “We The Peoples” campaign. Since 2023, he is championing the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur on Democracy. Since 2023, Andreas is also a member of the international study group working on a “Second Charter” of the United Nations.
In 2018, Andreas published the book “A World Parliament: Governance and Democracy in the 21st Century” (with Jo Leinen) which describes the history, relevance and possible implementation of a global parliament. An updated and extended edition appeared in 2024.
Selected pre-pandemic photos 2017-2020 and from 2022
People’s Pact and Future Summit
Andreas is quoted in this report on the People’s Pact for the Future and in this IPS report on the upcoming UN Summit of the Future
United Nations Summit of the Future
Andreas will participate in the UN’s Summit of the Future on 22-23 September 2024 in New York as a delegate of Democracy Without Borders.
2nd expanded & updated edition
In August 2024, a second expanded and updated edition of Andreas’ book “A World Parliament: Governance and Democracy in the 21st Century” was published. Learn more about it here.
Community of Democracies
Andreas Bummel presented the proposed mandate of UN Special Rapporteur on Democracy at the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies in Warsaw
Interview from the future
The German newspaper TAZ travelled into the future and spoke with Andreas about the creation of a world parliament. See here.
Parliamentarians for Global Action
Andreas Bummel kicked off the dialogue at a meeting of the UN Committee of Parliamentarians for Global Action in New York
Nairobi UN conference
Andreas Bummel was a member of the Experts Sub-Committee of the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference in Nairobi convened in May and spoke at the event
Interview with CIVICUS
In an interview with CIVICUS Andreas elaborated on the shortcomings of global governance and civil society reform proposals
Yale Global Justice Program
East & West podcast
In this podcast Andreas talks about global citizenship, a global polity, common values, democratic principles, a global parliament, peace and war, the containment of authoritarian governments and much more.
UN Special Rapporteur on Democracy
On 20 November 2023, an international call for a UN Rapporteur on Democracy was published which Andreas helped organize. He is quoted in this article.
International poll
A 15-country-survey showed significant support for a world parliament and world law. Read Andreas’ report and comment here.
UN Charter revision
Andreas participated in an international study group that examined principles and proposals for a “second” UN Charter. The results are summarized in this document (PDF).
T20 policy brief
The T20 engagement track of the G20 summit has published a policy brief by Thomas Pogge and Andreas titled “Enhancing the Legitimacy of Multilateralism”
FOI at the United Nations
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day Andreas spoke to IPS about a Freedom of Information procedure at the United Nations
Global Futures Forum
Andreas is a co-facilitator of the thematic track on UN & Global Governance innovation of the Global Futures Forum in March 2023 in New York