Read more
Why are non-state actors sometimes granted participation rights in international organizations? This book argues that IOs, and the states that compose them, systematically pursue their interests when granting participation rights to NSAs.
This book demonstrates that NSAs have long been participants in global governance institutions, and that states and bureaucracies have not always resisted their inclusion. At the same time, this study encourages skepticism of the assumption that increasing participation should be expected with the passage of time. The result is a study that challenges some commonly held assumptions about the interests of IOs and states, while providing an interesting comparison of secretariat and state interests with regard to one particular aspect of IO institutional rule and practice: the participation of non-state actors.
Addressing the regular assumption that the power of states and the efficacy of multilateral governance have simply wilted in the heat of globalization while NSAs have flourished, this work features analysis of key institutions such as UNCEF, UNDP and the Environment Programme. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of international relations, the United Nations, and NGOs.
List of contents
Introduction, 1. Who participates, and who decides? International organizations as complex actors, 2. Mobilizing public opinion: NGOs and the United Nations, 3. Non-state actors and UNICEF, 4. Non-state actors and the UN Development Programme, 5. Non-state actors and the UN Environment Programme, 6. Interests and participation in multilateralism: seeking innovation amidst stubborn interests
Summary
Challenging the regular assumption that the power of states and the efficacy of multilateral governance have simply wilted in the heat of globalization while NSAs have flourished, this work features analysis of key institutions such as UNCEF, UNDP and the Environment Programme. It will be of great interest to students and scholars of international relations, the United Nations, and NGOs.
Report
This work is part of Routledge's impressive "Global Institutions" series. Ruhlman (Towson Univ.) examines the role of non-state actors (NSAs) within international organizations. Because the constituent, dues-paying members of international organizations are generally nation-states, readers might question whether NSAs play any meaningful role within them at all, although some observers see a declining role for traditional nation-states. --M. F. Farrell, Ripon College
