Towards of World Federation: It Is Time to Implement Abdu’l-Bahá’s Advice

Abstract

It was almost a century ago, during His historic trip to the United States, that `Abdu'l-Bahá advised a high official in the service of the federal government that he could best promote the interests of his government and people, if he strove in his capacity as a citizen of the world, to gradually apply the principle of federalism to the world beyond the United States. Now, almost a century later, the necessity for the application of this principle has become increasingly apparent. Indeed, it is indispensable, if we are to effectively tackle seemingly intractable collective problems such as climate change, the increasing demand for equitable access to clean energy, nuclear proliferation, use of force, financial stability and food and water security to name but a few. This presentation will both demonstrate the crying need to apply the principles of federalism today and propose some concrete steps that can be taken by the international community to move in this direction.