Working Group 1 focused on the question of how it could be possible to build global legitimacy without a world-wide democracy or government. It is the gap between globalization and political legitimacy in the present and future world that puts this question on the agenda. They too perceived this as one of the most urgent problems and emphasized the need for more political steering in the global economy. However, unlike elected parliaments, governments or political parties, they have no equivalent political legitimacy.
Political legitimacy is the result of transparency, efficiency and democracy.
The central question in this context is how strong and far-reaching globalization and technological change will touch upon societies, nation states and national economics. Especially globalization creates a new need of political steering beyond the nation state. The issues of how far an effective, transparent and democratic global policy will be possible, and which measures and rules we need pose an important agenda for the future. He described the enormous difficulties Slovakia has faced on its way to capitalism and privatization, to free mass media and free speech, to non-discrimination against ethnical minorities and to squelch democracy. He made aware that the country will have to adapt to a new kind of decision making on a multilateral level and in the institutional framework of an increasingly globalized world.