Schwartzberg's weighted voting
Encyclopedia
Schwartzberg’s weighted voting is a method of voting, proposed by Joseph E. Schwartzberg
, for representation of nations in a reformed United Nations
.
The formula is (P+C+M)/3, where P is the nation's percentage of the total population of all UN members, C is that nation's percentage of the total contributions to the UN budget, and M, the nation's percentage of the total UN membership (which of course would be the same for all members); divide that sum by 3 to get the average.
Under this method, the nations with the greatest voting power would be the U.S. (9.065%); China (7.672%); Japan (7.282%); and India (5.960%). This system avoids giving microstate
s disproportionate influence (as under one state, one vote) while also avoiding giving a coalition of populous developing countries
such as China
and India
control over the UN, as might happen under one man, one vote.
It is important in the calculation of C (Nation's contributions to the UN budget) that only actual paid contributions be counted rather than owed contributions in arrears, since some major nations are very significantly in arrears in their payment of their agreed level of United Nations dues.
Joseph E. Schwartzberg
Joseph E. Schwartzberg is a University of Minnesota professor emeritus of geography and prominent world federalist scholar.Schwartzberg was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1928. He has done significant work in seeking solutions to the Kashmir conflict. He also developed the idea of "weighted voting"...
, for representation of nations in a reformed United Nations
Reform of the United Nations
Since the late 1990s there have been many calls for reform of the United Nations . However, there is little clarity or consensus about what reform might mean in practice. Both those who want the UN to play a greater role in world affairs and those who want its role confined to humanitarian work or...
.
The formula is (P+C+M)/3, where P is the nation's percentage of the total population of all UN members, C is that nation's percentage of the total contributions to the UN budget, and M, the nation's percentage of the total UN membership (which of course would be the same for all members); divide that sum by 3 to get the average.
Under this method, the nations with the greatest voting power would be the U.S. (9.065%); China (7.672%); Japan (7.282%); and India (5.960%). This system avoids giving microstate
Microstate
A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or very small land area, but usually both. Some examples include Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Nauru, Singapore, and Vatican City....
s disproportionate influence (as under one state, one vote) while also avoiding giving a coalition of populous developing countries
Developing country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
such as China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
control over the UN, as might happen under one man, one vote.
It is important in the calculation of C (Nation's contributions to the UN budget) that only actual paid contributions be counted rather than owed contributions in arrears, since some major nations are very significantly in arrears in their payment of their agreed level of United Nations dues.