Answer:
(a) Major global institutions do not function in a democratic manner. Though every member nation has one vote in the U.N. General Assembly yet all crucial decisions regarding conflicts and wars are taken by the Security Council. This body has only 15 members. (b) Ten members of the Security Council are not permanent and changed every five years. Thus the real power lies only with the five permanent members - U.S.A, U.K., France, Russia and China. Any one of these can stall any decision of the Security Council by using veto power. (c) The International Monetary Fund is the biggest money-lending institution and wields enormous financial clout. But its 173 member-states do not have equal voting power. The weightage of each country's vote is dependent on how much money it has donated to the I.M.F. Thus the eight leading, G-8 nations have the majority of votes. (d) The World Bank also has a similar system of voting. Thus the President of the World Bank is always an American citizen nominated by the US Secretary (Treasury). (e) The World Trade Organisation is the key global institution that decides upon rules of trade among different countries. Every decision of W.T.O has to have the consent of all its members. Therefore it appears to be fully democratic. (f) But appearances are deceptive. Key decisions are taken in informal meetings which are secret and to which only the powerful countries are invited.
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