Non-State Participation in International Organizations : Patterns, Drivers, and Consequences

• Over recent decades, one of the most prominent developments in global governance has been the expanded involvement of non-state actors (NSAs) in the policy-making bodies of international organizations (IOs). This trend is expected to have positive implications for democracy and effectiveness in global governance by improving participation, accountability, and representation, and by allowing IOs to draw on NSA resources to improve policy-making. Yet to date, we lack systematic knowledge about three factors with fundamental implications for the extent to which promises of democracy and effectiveness hold true. First, we know little about the patterns of NSA participation in IOs. Second, we know little about the drivers of NSA participation in IOs. Third, we know little about the consequences of NSA participation for IO policy-making. Across five independent papers, this dissertation offers the most comprehensive analysis to date of the patterns, drivers, and consequences of NSA participation in IOs. Empirically, the dissertation adopts a comparative approach and engages in extensive new data collection on NSA participation in IOs. Theoretically, the dissertation develops novel theoretical arguments and testable hypotheses about the drivers and effects of NSA participation in IOs. The dissertation generates three main findings. First, patterns of participation display considerable variation across issue areas, policy stages, and time. The typical population of NSA participants in an IO body is small, and mainly includes NSAs representing specific interests and NSAs from the global North. Yet the patterns across issue areas and policy stages suggest that existing research on NSA participation have focused on IOs, issue areas, and policy stages where participation is particularly high, and where participation patterns are comparatively less skewed. Second, access rules, governance problems, and issue salience are important drivers of participation patterns. Reforms expanding NSA access to IOs have positive effects on NSA participation, but different types of access reforms have markedly different effects. Specifically, a deepening of the level of access has a positive effect on NSA participation, whereas a broadening of the range of NSAs with access has a negative effect. Furthermore, the nature of the governance problems and the salience of the issues an IO body addresses are central drivers of what categories of NSAs participate in IOs. Whereas participation from specific interest NSAs is comparatively high in IO bodies addressing technical issues, participation from diffuse interest NSAs is comparatively high in IO bodies addressing publicly salient issues. Third, increased NSA participation generally has positive consequences for IO policy-making performance. However, the effect of increased participation is conditional both on the initial level of participation, and on the categories of NSAs that participate. Together, these findings have implications for scientific and policy debates on NSA participation in IOs, NSA access to IOs, and democracy and effectiveness in global governance.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

non-state actors

participation

international organizations

global governance

non-governmental organizations

statsvetenskap

Political Science

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

dok (ämneskategori)