Global Governance And The Role Of Non State Actors

This book represents a conference organized by the Social Science Research Centre Berlin (WZB), the Alfred Herrhausen Society, The International Forum of the Deutsche Bank, and the Centre for the Analysis of Risk and Regulation (CARR) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in November 2004 in London. Changes in statehood are one of the main indicators of a shift in the focus of governance onto the global level. This is manifested most clearly in the emergence and growing importance of actors that are no longer tied to national or state contexts in the traditional way, as with national parliaments, government ministries, or administrative bodies. The age of global governance is an age of international actors, such as the WTO, and of non-state actors, such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and transnational corporations (TNCs). The aim of the conference was to take a closer look at these non-state actors, the scope of their activities, the way they operate, and the extent to which they are perhaps more appropriately classified as "governance actors", given their function as regulators and standard setters, tasks more traditionally associated with the state.

The involvement of non-state actors in world politics can hardly be characterised as novel, but intensifying economic and social exchange and the emergence of new modes of international governance have given them much greater visibility and, many would argue, a more central role. Non-state Actors in World Politics offers analyses of a diverse range of economic, social, legal (and illegal), old and new actors, such as the Catholic Church, trade unions, diasporas, religious movements, transnational corporations and organised crime.

A PDF version of this book is available for free in open access via www.tandfebooks.com as well as the OAPEN Library platform, www.oapen.org. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license and is part of the OAPEN-UK research project. Structures and processes occurring within and between states are no longer the only – or even the most important - determinants of those political, economic and social developments and dynamics that shape the modern world. Many issues, including the environment, health, crime, drugs, migration and terrorism, can no longer be contained within national boundaries. As a result, it is not always possible to identify the loci for authority and legitimacy, and the role of governments has been called into question. Civil Society anf International Governance critically analyses the increasing impact of nongovernmental organisations and civil society on global and regional governance. Written from the standpoint of advocates of civil society and addressing the role of civil society in relation to the UN, the IMF, the G8 and the WTO, this volume assess the role of various non-state actors from three perspectives: theoretical aspects, civil society interaction with the European Union and civil society and regional governance outside Europe, specifically Africa, East Asia and the Middle East. It demonstrates that civil society’s role has been more complex than one defined in terms, essentially, of resistance and includes actual participation in governance as well as multi-facetted contributions to legitimising and democratising global and regional governance. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, international relations, civil society, sociology, European politics and global governance.

Traditionally in International Relations, power and authority were considered to rest with states. But recently, in the light of changes associated with globalisation, this has come under scrutiny both empirically and theoretically. This book analyses the continuing but changing role of states in the international arena, and their relationships with a wide range of non-state actors, which possess increasingly salient capabilities to structure global politics and economics.

This book is the first effort to develop a broad and deep perspective on the emerging space occupied by “non-state actors” in China in the context of global environmental governance. It will serve as a primer both for scholars seeking to understand China’s environmental governance system and for practitioners working with policymakers and administrators within that system. Individual chapters explore what works in achieving social change, domestically as well as globally, and will provide guidance to activists and directors of NGOs as well as scholars.

Completely revised and updated for the second edition, this textbook continues to offer the most comprehensive resource available for all interested in international organization and global governance. The book offers: In-depth and accessible coverage of the history and theories of international organization and global governance. Discussions of the full range of state, intergovernmental, and non-state actors. Examinations of key issues in all aspects of contemporary world politics. New additions to this edition include: New and revised chapters on theories of international organization and global governance. New substantive chapters on global corporations, China, financial markets, terrorist organizations, governing global energy, and the Internet. Updated contributions to reflect the changing nature of world politics. The book comprises fifty-four chapters arranged in seven parts and woven together by a comprehensive introduction to the field, along with separate introductions to each part to guide students and faculty, and helpful pointers to further reading. International Organization and Global Governance is a self-contained resource enabling readers to comprehend more fully the role of myriad actors in the governance of global life as well as to assemble the many pieces of the contemporary global governance puzzle.

The involvement of non-state actors in world politics can hardly be characterized as novel, but intensifying economic and social exchange and the emergence of new modes of international governance have given them much greater visibility and, many would argue, a more central role. "Non-State Actors in World Politics" analyzes a diverse range of economic, social, legal (and illegal), old and new actors, such as the Catholic Church, trade unions, diasporas, religious movements, transnational corporations and organized crime.