text: The concept of universal governance has existed since antiquity and been the subject of discussion, debate, and even advocacy by some kings, philosophers, religious leaders, and secular humanists. Some of these have discussed it as a natural and inevitable outcome of human social evolution, and interest in it has coincided with the trends of globalization. Opponents of world government, who come from a broad political spectrum, view the concept as a tool for violent totalitarianism, unfeasible, or simply unnecessary, and in the case of some sectors of fundamentalist Christianity, as a vehicle for the Antichrist to bring about the end-times.
  Definition
  Alexander Wendt defines a state as an "organization possessing a monopoly on the legitimate use of organized violence within a society." According to Wendt, a world state would need to fulfill the following requirements:
  Monopoly on organized violence – states have exclusive use of legitimate force within their own territory.
  Legitimacy – perceived as right by their populations, and possibly the global community.
  Sovereignty – possessing common power and legitimacy.
  Corporate action –  a collection of individuals who act together in a systematic way.
  Wendt argues that a world government would not require a centrally controlled army or a central decision-making body, as long as the four conditions are fulfilled. In order to develop a world state, three changes must occur in the world system:
  Universal security community – a peaceful system of binding dispute resolution without threat of interstate violence.
  Universal collective security – unified response to crimes and threats.
  Supranational authority – binding decisions are made that apply to each and every state.
  The development of a world government is conceptualized by Wendt as a process through five stages:
  System of states;
  Society of states;
  World society;
  Collective security;