A proposal for the New Shape Prize: CIVICS: Changing Incentives for Voters in International Cooperation through Sampling

Nikola K Blanchard (1, 2) , Olivier Pivot

1 IRIF (UMR_8243) - Institut de Recherche en Informatique Fondamentale
2 LORIA - ALGO - Department of Algorithms, Computation, Image and Geometry

This model is built around the principle that any actor in a global governance institution should have interests aligned with mankind’s. This means creating an incentive structure to make sure that in each different component, every member’s best interest is to faithfully play their role, which is sadly not the case today. Despite widespread awareness of the dangers of inaction on issues such as climate change, policy on the matter evolves very slowly, although a strong majority in most countries would prefer their government do more to prevent or counter its effects (including India, China and the USA). This is only one specific case of humanity agreeing on the need for action (and even often on what needs to be done), only for most policy-makers to shrink from pursuing truly effective policies due to personal or electoral risks and diverse lobbying interests. Current policy-makers do have an advantage, however, in that they are able to spend more time focused on the issue with teams of experts, and have access to more detailed and current information. The goal is then to have decision-makers with the same interests as the general population, but with a decent understanding of the consequences of any decision taken. Once we make sure that the decision-makers are incorruptible, well-intentioned and well-informed, it is enough to design a system by which their decisions are respected and implemented by the international community. This model presents one way of obtaining such a set of decision-makers, and the tools they need to enforce the decisions taken. Our model has a traditional parliamentary structure with some nuances. The upper house is mostly present to bring expertise and guidance from the international community, while the lower house composed of anonymous citizens is in charge of the final decision. An executive council then makes sure that the decisions are respected by all the member countries. We will first explain some recent theoretical and technological developments which are at the heart of the model. Once this is done, we will present its different components and show how the model could be implemented before analyzing its potential weaknesses and their respective solutions.

Domaines: Science politique

Nikola K Blanchard, Olivier Pivot. A proposal for the New Shape Prize: CIVICS: Changing Incentives for Voters in International Cooperation through Sampling. VIII International Smolny Student Conference 2019, Apr 2019, Saint Petersburg, Russia. ⟨hal-02273387⟩