Abstract
In our modern societies, market mechanisms shape the modes of production and distribution of goods and services, particularly more and more through the financial sphere, "that part of an economy that links savings with investments through different instruments denominated in monetary values'' (Scholte 2003, 189) such as loans, bonds, and options. In the current context of globalization, concept that refers to the growing intensity, extensity and velocity of worldwide interconnectedness (Baylis and Smith 2005), financial activities are fundamental to the development and modernization of countries - witness the increase of average volume of foreign exchanges, from 15 $ billion per day (1971) to 1.450 $ billon per day (1998) (Gilpin as quoted by Scholte 2003, 190). The concept of global governance refers to "rule systems that rely on steering mechanisms through which authority is exercised in order to preserve the coherence of the systems and move towards desired goals" (Rosenau 2003, 72). This worldwide process of decision-making is thus a means to overcome global problems such as, in the case of finance, a lack of efficiency, a lack of stability, and a problem of compatibility with social and environmental expectations.
