W12 Is global governance democratic ? Is it actually desirable ?

Question 1

Accountability def

Answer 1

acknowledgement and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions and policies

Question 2

transparency

Answer 2

operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed

• reporting, measuring, justifying, explaining actions
• mechanisms that involve obligations to explain and justify conduct

Question 3

Problem of global governance and democratic accountability

Answer 3

widespread belief that rules are only legitimate if conform to broadly democratic principles. yet, little democratic accountability in global gov

Question 4

why is there little democratic accountability in global governance ?

Answer 4

Scholte :

• world politics = no longer among states only. prolif of global gv agencies and supranational laws
• weak links between citizens and global gov org via national govts (weak national accountability chain)
• relationship between nat govts and global gov agencies mainly through unelected technocrats
• govts intervene w global gov institutions in broad policy goals but activities are unchecked

Question 5

Can global gov be brought under greater democratic control ?

Answer 5

according to Scholte : YES

Civil society associations can bring greater public control to global gov

Question 6

civil society def

Answer 6

a pol space where voluntary associations of citizens seek, from outside political parties, to shape social rule.

• can overlap w commercial and official/ political spheres

Question 7

Third Sector

Answer 7

mix of state, community and market = non profit (NGOs, asso foundations)

Question 8

How does civil society improve accountability in global gov ?

Answer 8

4 main ways ;

1) transparency = pressure global gov to undertake public disclosure of their work
2) policy monitoring and review = evaluation, alert the public
3) pursuit of redress = seek correction of mistakes
4) promoting formal accountability mechanisms = formal mechanisms to monitor and control agencies concerned (civil society accreditation scheme in the UN)

Question 9

issues for greater democratic accountability in global gov

Answer 9

1) resources : funds, staff, equipment (but compromises autonomy)
2) networks : becoming stronger through coop with other groups (but can compromise establish goals)
3) official attitudes : form relationship w public authorities (can become co-opted)
4) mass média : quality can help or hinder accountability (has its own vested interests)
5) political culture : structural relationships state-civil society depend on social context (can encourage/ discourage citizen action)
6) civil society’s accountability : unaccountable, incompetent, morally dubious («uncivil» groups of fundamentalists, militarists, racists)

Question 10

problem of democratic accountability far more complex

Answer 10

• common values lacking on a global scale : dem values not universally held bcz entities w different beliefs about what constitutes the good life
• in the abs of a universal global society, cosmopolitan democracy unlikely on a global scale
• likely to continue having a system of interactions between democratic societies and those who hold opposing values
• multiplicity of actors but states remain central

Question 11

Accountability 2 types

Answer 11

Keohane

• «internal» accountability : principal and agent institutionally linked together -> AUTHORISATION (confers right) and SUPPORT (fin/ pol) create capabilities to hold entities accountable because the principal is providing legitimacy or financial resources to the agent
• «external» accountability : accountability to ppl outside the acting entity, whose lives are affected by it -> IMPACT (WB policies in Africa, US military actions overseas, actions of multinational corp).
  Ability to avoid being held externally accountable = dimension of pw
  Type of accountability demanded by non state actors/ advocacy networks from pwful entities (states, corporations, IGOS)

Question 12

IGOs actually relatively accountable

Answer 12

• traditional IGOs = internally accountable to states on the basis of authorisation and support -> created by states and require fin support from states
• to some extent externally accountable to NGOs and the media : if not transparent, bcz governmental pressure for confidentiality

Question 13

compétition external accountability and internal accountability

Answer 13

external accountability claims by the media and NGOs (based on the impact of IGOs) compete with internal accountability claims by governments (based on authorisation and support)

Question 14

IGOs are undeservedly targets for external accountability, but more external accountability is needed from

Answer 14

• MNCs
• Transgovernmental and private sector networks
• The roman catholic church
• mass religious mvts
• cover terrorist networks
• POWERFUL STATES-> traditionally the doctrine of sov (westphalian project) has protected states from external accountability
• NGOs often not transparent and only accountable internally to donors

Question 15

weak external accountability of states

Answer 15

• powerful democratic states internally accountable but not externally accountable
• only weak external accountability of states:
  a) weak states accountable to rich states (bcz demand for aid)
  b) some limited accountability resulting from membership in Internat. org such as WTO / ICC (multilateralism)
  c) reputational concerns

Question 16

conclusions pbs from weak external accountability

Answer 16

• powerful states pose the most serious threats to accountability in world pol
• demand from NGOs and advocacy networks for «more accountability» from IGOs can reduce states’ interests in such organisations -> then if states get less benefits from IGOs they will be less willing to provide resources and to accept demands on them- through these institutions - for external accountability
• globalization weakens internal accountability within democracies, but it’s pol institutionalisation is a condition for external accountability

Question 17

how to hold powerful states accountable

Answer 17

more multilateral organisations

Question 18

condition for global gov to be legitimate

Answer 18

substantial measure of external accountability or mechanisms meshing tgt internal and external accountability

Question 19

Tensions globalization

Answer 19

Rodrik

• hyperglobalization VS national democratic pol -> hyperglob requires shrinking domestic pol and insultaiton of technocrats from popular demands
• globalization VS domestic social arrangements = core feature of global eco

Question 20

Example of tensions of globalization

Answer 20

• labor standards : no protection against outsourcing where foreign workers are privileged over domestic ones -> internat. markets erode domestic labor regulations while domestic markets don’t
• corporate tax competition : international mobility of firms/ k+ restricts a nation’s ability to choose the tax structure it prefers -> downward pressure on corporate tax rates shifts the tax burden from capital to labor
• health and safety standards : 1990 GATT’s rule against thailand’s ban on imported cigarettes -> int. tribunals contradict domestic rules

Question 21

Political trilemma of the world eco

Answer 21

rodrik
management tension national democracy / global markets

Hyperglobalisation / Nat. sov/ Dem. politics

3 options :

1) restrict democracy -> to minimize int. transaction costs
2) limit globalization -> to build democratic legitimacy at home
3) globalize democracy -> at the cost of nat. sovty

CANNOT HAVE ALL THREE

Question 22

golden straitjacket

Answer 22

hyperglob + nat sovty

governments pursue policies that attract trade and k+ flows : small govts, low taxes, flexible labor markets, deregulation, privatisation and openess

• global economic order before WWI

Question 23

global gov

Answer 23

hyperglobalization + democratic politics :

global institutions w regulatory and standard setting powers endowed w adequate accountability and legitimacy -> politics does not shrink but relocates to the global level
ex : global federalism, US model global scale or new mechanisms of accountability and rpzation where nat. sov = diminished (EU)
- diversity can embrace common rules ?
- global standards = undesirable bcz lowest common denominator will b a regime of weak and inefficient rules

Question 24

bretton woods compromise

Answer 24

nat. sovty and democratic politics

loose rules w many policies left outside the scope of international discipline, space for countries to follow their own, «thin» globalization (abandoned in 80s)

Question 25

so if we want to keep democracy we can

Answer 25

a) globalize democratic governance along w markets (global gov)
b) rethink trade and investments agreements in order to expand democratic decision making at the national level (bw compromise)

Question 26

is global gov feasible ?

Answer 26

our world eco may b populated by a veritable alphabet soup of international agencies - from ABD to WTO - but democratic decision making remains firmly lodged within national states. «global governance» has a nice ring to it, but don’t go looking for anytime soon.

Question 27

new forms of governance leaving the nation state behind proposed by scholars

Answer 27

• delegation of national powers to internat. technocrats (but délégation is a pol act, requires certain conditions - «global body politics» common norms, transnational political community, mechanisms of accountability)
• transnational networks of policy makers
  (but need civil society to achieve legitimacy)
• corporate social responsibility : internat. corp to advance social and eco goals -> private sector shoulders some functions of the state narrowing gov gap between internat. markets and nat. govts

Question 28

to whom are these mechanisms supposed to b accountable ?

Answer 28

achilles’ heel of global gov : lack of clear accountability relationships

Question 29

transnational democratic deliberation. ex: EU

Answer 29

workable but requires a shared global identity (global citizens) and an extensive transnational gov structure. even EU institutions criticised for «democratic deficit»

Question 30

would global gov solve our pbs

Answer 30

global standards by which countries abide :

• but child labor in dev nations is often unavoidable conseq of poverty, might harm even more
• pb arises from differences in standards written and practiced = enforcement and monitoring

market-based solutions based on mandatory provision of info:

• a syst of certification and labelling of imported goods that allows consumers to distinguish goods produced by children
• but market for info works poorly (credit rating agencies)
• which would certify the certifier (to whom accountable)

Question 31

limits of global gov

Answer 31

• deep divisions among societies in terms of preferences, circumstances and capabilities. WORLD IS TOO DIVERSE to be shoehorned into a single transnational pol community

Question 32

if not global gov then what?

Answer 32

• accept the reality of a divided global polity
• limited global governance : require only a «thin layer of simple transparent and common sense traffic rules» to regulate glob

nations over global institutions -> let the domestic/ nat standard prevail