Martin Walker points to a similarity between the upcoming Papal election and the ongoing WTO Director-General selection process: the developing world is asserting its claims to both positions more strongly than ever before: ("The Pope Quota", Foreign Policy, April 2005, free registration required)
"At first glance, the hushed deliberations of the 117 Roman Catholic cardinals who will elect the next pope don’t have much in common with the diplomatic jostling over the leadership of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet in both cases, the traditional right of Europeans to lead international institutions—sacred and profane—is under fire..."
"...It is becoming clear that the governments of the approximately 150 countries that call themselves the developing world are no longer prepared to let the 30-odd rich nations dominate the top jobs..."
One disturbing consequence:
In practice, the rebellion against the rich means that many critical international institutions may soon have an informal quota system—a mixed blessing at best. The post of secretary-general of the United Nations has passed from one continent to another for decades now. Kofi Annan represents Africa’s turn at the helm. Before him was Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who represented the Arab world; Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of South America; the European Kurt Waldheim; and Burma’s U Thant. (Rumor has it that it will be Asia’s turn again when Annan’s term ends.) Reviewing this list, it must be said that the United Nations’ unwritten rule of quotas has not produced many outstanding figures."
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