Non-State Actors as Standard Setters

by Anne Peters, Lucy Koechlin Lic.,phil., Till Förster, Gretta Fenner Zinkernagel B.A., M.A.

Overview

This analysis of 'globalised' standard-setting processes draws together insights from law, political sciences, sociology and social anthropology to assess the authority and accountability of non-state actors and the legitimacy and effectiveness of the processes. The essays offer new understandings of current governance problems, including environmental and financial standards, rules for military contractors and complex public-private partnerships, such as those intended to protect critical information infrastructure. The contributions also evaluate multi-stakeholder initiatives (such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative), and discuss the constitution of public norms in stateless areas. A synopsis of the latest results of the World Governance Indicator, arguably one of the most important surveys in the area today, is included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521114905
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/24/2009
Pages:	608
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Anne Peters is Professor of Public International Law and Constitutional Law at the University of Basel and a member of the Scientific Board of the Basel Institute on Governance. She is also visiting professor at Sciences Po, Paris.

Lucy Koechlin is Head of Public Accountability at the Basel Institute on Governance, and Lecturer of Development Studies at the Institute of Sociology and the Centre for African Studies Basel (CASB), University of Basel, Switzerland.

Till Förster is a member of the Scientific Board of the Basel Institute on Governance and holds the chair for social anthropology at the University of Basel. He is also director of the interdisciplinary Centre for African Studies Basel (CASB), University of Basel, Switzerland.

Gretta Fenner Zinkernagel is a Consultant to the Board of the Basel Institute on Governance and advises the Western Australian Office of the Public Sector Standards Commissioner on ethics and integrity issues.

Table of Contents

1. Non-state actors as standard-setters: framing the issue in an interdisciplinary fashion Anne Peters, Lucy Koechlin and Gretta Fenner; Part I. New Actors and Processes in Contemporary Standard-Setting: 2. Local and regional non-state actors on the margins of public policy in Africa Dieter Neubert; 3. Conceptualising the use of public-private partnerships as a regulatory arrangement in critical information infrastructure protection Dan Assaf; 4. Standard-setting at the cutting edge: an evidence-based typology for multi-stakeholder initiatives Lucy Koechlin and Richard Calland; 5. New standards for and by private military companies? Lindsey Cameron; 6. Governance matters VII: aggregate and individual governance indicators 1996–2007 Daniel Kaufmann, Aart Kraay and Massimo Mastruzzi; 7. Contending with illicit power structures: a typology Michael Miklaucic; Part II. The Legitimacy and Accountability of Actors and Standards: 8. Democratic governance beyond the state: the legitimacy of non-state actors as standard-setters Steven Wheatley; 9. Legitimacy, accountability and polycentric regulation: dilemmas, trilemmas and organisational response Julia Black; 10. Accountability of transnational actors: is there scope for cross-sector principles? Monica Blagescu and Robert Lloyd; 11. Non-state environmental standards as a substitute for state regulation? Marcus Schaper; 12. Limiting violence - culture and the constitution of public norms: with a case study from a stateless area Till Förster; Part III. The Authority and Effectiveness of Actors and Standards: 13. Standard-setting for capital movements: reasserting sovereignty over transnational actors? Peter Hägel; 14. Certification as a new private global forest governance system: the regulatory potential of the forest stewardship council Stéphane Guéneau; 15. Private standards in the north - effective norms for the south? Eva Kocher; 16. International corporate social responsibility standards: imposing or imitating business responsibility in Lithuania? Egle Svilpaite; 17. Legal pluralism under the influence of globalisation: a case study of child adoption in Tanzania Ulrike Wanitzek; 18. Towards non-state actors as effective, legitimate, and accountable standard-setters Anne Peters, Till Förster and Lucy Koechlin.

Editorial Reviews

"Because of its broad coverage, the book provides inspiration not only in terms of empirical cases but also for more research at the disciplinary frontiers. Legal scholars, political scientists and sociologists interested in the phenomenon of non-state standard setting are presented with an inspiring account of how a joint interdisciplinary effort can provide a more complete understanding of the role of non-state actors in contemporary world politics. Overall, Non-State Actors as Standard Setters offers a fascinating account of the diversity associated with standard setting by non-state actors."
Kathrin Ludwig and Philipp Pattberg, Transnational Environmental Law

From the Publisher