Multistakeholder Governance and Democracy

The understanding of how the management of global and regional transborder issues and problems are adressed has evolved considerably over the past decade. No longer an exclusive preserve of diplomats and international lawyers focussing on formal institutional arrangements and legal instruments the scope has widened to encompass a rapidly growing set of issue areas and multitude of new actors from civil society and the corporate world. Harris Gleckman's book is a significant contribution in mapping the evolution from hierarchical legal exegesis and intergovernmental power play towards more supple horizontal relations between a diverse and expanding set of stakeholders. The author does this with the rare combination of the clarity of the sharp analyst and the insights of a seasoned participant in these processes. His book is essential reading for anyone involved in the changing patterns of global governance. - Peter Hansen, former Executive Director of the Commission on Global Governance and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Dr. Gleckman has written the definitive critique of the current non-system of international global governance, and of the emergent multistakeholder groups seeking to fill the gaps in the former. Gleckman then ventures beyond analysis to propose criteria essential for any just, inclusive, accountable and effective institutions that would address global crises. This volume is addressed to all intelligent and ethical people concerned about global problems and committed to the quality of their resolution. - Jo Marie Griesgraber, Executive Director, New Rules for Global Finance, USA An invaluable and comprehensive analysis of contemporary challenges to multilateralism as the organizing principle for global governance. With piercing precision Gleckman identifies gaps and limitations in governance and questions the illusion of democracy and participation. The book offers a welcome and thoughtful guide for improving decisionmaking and assuming responsibility in a context of distributed power. - Maria Ivanova, Associate Professor of Global Governance, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA Multistakeholder Governance and Democracy is a bracing journey through the rise and rise of multi-stakeholderism. Arguing from his unique inside experience that this new form of global governance has come not just to supplement, but to challenge, multilateralism, Harris Gleckman sounds the alarm on whether we need to radically respond to the proliferation of instruments that are neither founded on principles of inclusive democracy nor accountability. A powerful and gripping exploration of this significant yet little-known evolution in global power, which leaves readers with a powerful challenge: can we imagine a new or reform global governance system that addresses the inequities and power imbalances of globalization, while upholding principles of democracy, inclusion and accountability? - Amelia Evans, International Human Rights Lawyer and co-founder of The Institute for Multi-Stakeholder Initiative Integrity, USA In this fascinating book, Harris Gleckman illuminates how multistakeholderism has rapidly become the go-to form of governance for global challenges, with corresponding implications on democracy, transparency, responsibility, and accountability. A must read for students and practitioners, and for citizens, whose rights and interests are increasingly subject to multistakeholder governance. - Lisa Sachs, Columbia Law School - The Earth Institute, Columbia University, USA