Institutions of Private Authority in Global Governance

Abstract

In the current discussion on globalization, it is often argued that state power at the national level has diminished and authority has been surrendered to global market forces. In this context it is ignored that beyond state and market there is a private system of governance linking different territorial levels in which the national sphere continues to be important. Thus, self-regulatory arrangements exist across many policy fields, but business—which is a very globalized interest category—is particularly rich with examples. Various theories are developed to examine self-regulation as an alternative to public regulation through private actors in domestic and international levels. This article seeks to analyze and integrate these theories developed mainly within comparative politics and international relations studies. A successful integration of these perspectives can also help interpret globalization processes and the role of the national sphere in the context of different systems of governance.