So if we go back to the things about today's world that we would have to explain to him, if he unexpectedly joined us now, probably the most difficult for him to adjust to would be the sheer complexity of a world in which individuals and groups of all kinds are constantly interacting – across frontiers and across oceans, economically, socially and culturally – without expecting or receiving any permission, let alone assistance, from their national governments … From this he might well conclude that we should not rely exclusively on state action to achieve our objectives on the international level, either. A great deal, he would think, is likely to depend on non-state actors in the system – private companies, voluntary agencies or pressure groups, philanthropic foundations, universities and think tanks, and of course creative individuals. And that thought would surely feed into his reflections on the role of the United Nations (Annan 2001: 10–11).