Informal Governance in World Politics
Informal Governance in World Politics
Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, cooperation among nations was based on international regimes and formal intergovernmental organizations. However, since the 1990s, informal modes of global governance, such as informal intergovernmental organizations and transnational public-private governance initiatives, have proliferated. Even within formal intergovernmental organizations, informal means of influence and informal procedures affect outcomes whilst, around all these institutions, even more informal networks shape agendas. This volume introduces and analyzes these three types of informality in governance: informality of, within, and around institutions. An introductory chapter traces the rise of informal governance and suggests a range of theoretical perspectives and variables that may explain this surge. Empirical chapters then apply these and other explanations to diverse issue areas and cross-cutting issues, often using newly developed datasets or original case study research. The concluding chapter sets out a research agenda on informality in global governance, including its normative implications.
- Introduces a typology of three different types of informal governance in world politics: informality of institutional forms, informality within institutions, and informality of networks operating around institutions
- Provides diverse, rich, and original empirical data and illustrations of informal governance in practice at the global, regional, and national levels
- Explores normative implications of informal governance in world politics from interdisciplinary perspectives, raising important issues about the potential benefits and costs of informal governance and suggesting an agenda for future research
Reviews & endorsements
‘The role of informality in world politics is indisputable and yet rarely the subject of mainstream research. The contributors to this volume aim to change that. Their analysis of informal institutions, as well as informality’s role in and around more formal institutions, is an important step toward better understanding the various dynamics through which global politics works.’ Deborah Avant, Distinguished University Professor and Sié Chéou-Kang Chair, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver
‘Students of global governance have always known about the importance of informal rules, but it was always much easier to study the formal ones. Consequently, we studied only one half of the rules of global governance – until now. This carefully, rigorously, and persuasively crafted volume, with chapters on the different kinds of informality in global governance, will become a standard-bearer on the subject for years to come.’ Michael Barnett, University Professor of International Relations and Political Science, George Washington University
‘The rise of informal governance, either through informal organizations or transnational governance initiatives, is one of the most important trends in global governance. This excellent edited volume, with its outstanding cast, helps us understand the causes and implications of this trend in an insightful and innovative fashion.’ Jon C. W. Pevehouse, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Political Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Product details
May 2024Hardback
9781009180542
336 pages
235 × 158 × 23 mm
0.62kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction:
- 1. Informality in global governance: an introduction Kenneth W. Abbott and Thomas J. Biersteker
- Part I. Informality of Institutions:
- 2. From complex interdependence to complex governance Miles Kahler
- 3. Soft pooling: how IIGOs govern collective decision-making without delegation Duncan Snidal and Felicity Vabulas
- 4. Informal governance in the development regime: a political economy perspective on two types of informal organizations Bernhard Reinsberg
- 5. Informal governance of international climate policy Axel Michaelowa, Katharina Michaelowa and Chandreyee Namhata
- 6. Why do states cooperate informally? Comparing secret agreements in Europe and the Middle East Barbara Koremenos and Melissa Carlson
- Part II. Informality Within Institutions:
- 7. International consequences of domestic politics: how divided government drives informal US influence in the World Bank Erasmus Kersting and Christopher Kilby
- 8. Knowledge guardians in informal networks: how international organizations retain knowledge of strategic errors Heidi Hardt
- Part III. Informality Around Institutions:
- 9. The role of transnational policy networks in informal governance: creating the office of the ombudsperson at the United Nations Thomas J. Biersteker
- Part IV. Normative Issues:
- 10. Can informal governance promote procedural justice? Lora Anne Viola
- Conclusion:
- 11. Conclusions: a research agenda on informal global governance Kenneth W. Abbott and Thomas J. Biersteker.
