From Panzi to Lilongwe: The roots of a democratic world order
- Young World Federalists
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
While the world’s attention is fixed on Davos this week, a deeper struggle over our planetary future is taking shape. In Switzerland, the World Economic Forum gathers under the banner of “A Spirit of Dialogue,” as President Trump unveils his “Board of Peace” – a $1 billion‑per‑seat body he openly presents as a potential replacement for the United Nations.
This elite‑driven model of global governance, where power is literally bought, stands in stark contrast to the world federalist vision. It offers a kind of global oligarchy that concentrates influence in the hands of the already wealthy and powerful. Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Malawi, a different future is being built. Through actions led by Young World Federalists’ partners, the principles of subsidiarity and democratic global governance are being put into practice. These events show that environmental stewardship and economic justice are not side issues for world federalism—they are its core building blocks.
The False Promise of the “High Table”
The Davos meeting is not wrong about the scale of today’s crises. Climate breakdown, inequality, and geopolitical instability are all global issues that demand global responses. But the way solutions are pursued reveals the limits of the current system.
The Board of Peace, with its lifetime chairmanship and billion‑dollar membership fees, pushes these limits to their extreme. It formalizes a model in which global decision‑making becomes a privilege for those who can pay. This is not a new vision of peace; it is a consolidation of power. It keeps intact the logic of the old order, where a handful of actors set the rules while the rest of the world lives with the consequences. It also ignores a basic federalist principle: that legitimate authority derives from democratic consent, not financial capacity.
Subsidiarity in the Soil: The DRC and Planetary Stewardship
World federalism rests on the principle of subsidiarity: problems should be solved at the most local level possible, and only escalated when they truly require broader or global action. The National Tree Day initiative in the DRC is a clear example of how this works in practice.
On December 5, 2025, RCJC‑RDC and Humanity and Actions for Development (HAD ASBL) mobilized families in the Panzi neighborhood of Bukavu to plant trees along the Ruzizi River. The day’s theme—keeping the DRC a “solution country”—recognized the Congo Basin’s importance as one of the world’s great carbon sinks.
Planting trees is a local act, but it has global significance. It helps protect biodiversity, prevent erosion, and stabilize the climate. Just as importantly, it invites residents to see themselves as more than passive victims of a global crisis. They become participants in a shared planetary project. That shift in consciousness—from local resident to global citizen—is exactly what a democratic world federation needs. It shows that global responsibility does not start in conference halls, but in neighborhoods, villages, and cities.
The Structural Necessity of Justice: Malawi’s Tax Campaign
If the DRC event foregrounds the ecological side of world federalism, the campaign in Malawi highlights its economic dimension. During the Global Davos Week of Action (January 19–23, 2026), HOPE Givers Foundation and Youth Corner Malawi joined a solidarity march in Lilongwe under the slogan “Pay a Fair Share, Build a Future Malawi.”
Their message goes straight to a central flaw in the current international system: capital moves freely across borders, but democratic control does not. Corporations can operate globally, shift profits to tax havens, and play states off against each other, while workers and public services remain confined within national budgets. This is not just a matter of corruption or bad leadership; it is a structural feature of a world built on competing sovereignties.
The march in Lilongwe calls for a tax system that is fair, transparent, and inclusive. It insists that those who profit from Malawian society must also contribute to it. In doing so, it points toward a world federalist solution: global rules, democratically agreed and enforceable, that set a floor for taxation and prevent a race to the bottom. Instead of voluntary pledges at elite gatherings, it demands institutions with real authority to regulate global capital in the interests of people and planet.
The Third Way: Democratic Internationalism
Taken together, these events clarify the real choice facing humanity. It is not simply between open globalism and closed nationalism. It is between a global order run by and for elites, and a global order built on democratic consent.
The Davos gatherings and the Board of Peace represent one path: governance negotiated among the powerful, insulated from meaningful public accountability. The actions in Panzi and Lilongwe represent another: a world where local communities address global problems, and where new institutions rise from the needs and demands of ordinary people.
World federalism offers a third way—democratic internationalism. It does not reject global governance; it insists that global governance must be democratic, representative, and grounded in justice. The young people planting trees in the DRC and marching for fair taxation in Malawi are already living this future. They show that a world federation will not be granted from above; it will be grown from below, rooted in the everyday struggles for a livable planet and a fair economy.
While elites in Davos trade speeches and signatures, world citizens in Africa are quietly doing the harder work: building a global order that serves everyone, not just those who can afford a seat at the table.
