Global Governance through Private Organizations

TLDR

Governance at international and global levels is increasingly provided by private organizations, especially in business sectors, where self‑regulation enables smaller groups to monitor compliance and sanction violators, while larger complex entities also develop effective alternative mechanisms to public regulation. The article examines how private organizations in global commerce, the pharmaceutical sector, and dye‑stuffs production use self‑regulation, and proposes to integrate these experiences into theories of global governance.

Abstract

Governance at international and global levels is not only provided through states and markets but also through a variety of private organizations. The business world is well represented through this kind of organization and contributes to global governance through self‐regulation across a number of industries. This article examines these efforts in the encompassing organization of global commerce, in the pharmaceutical industry and among dye stuffs producers. Smaller organizations are generally better suited to monitor compliance and impose sanctions on members violating the codes and norms behind self‐regulation. Even small organizations, however, are confronted with problems and there is also evidence of large and very complex organizations having established effective mechanisms as alternatives to public regulation. These experiences can be built into theories on self‐regulation as a form of global governance.