THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE DEMOCRATISATION OF GLOBAL GOVERNANCE INSTITUTIONS:

A thesis submitted to the Department of Philosophy of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, September 2007Declaration

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The thesis defends the argument that inclusion of elected representatives of non- governmental organisations (NGOs) in tripartite decision-making structures could potentially create a more democratic global governing system. This conclusion is supported by a specially-commissioned survey of leading figures in NGOs and IGO decision-making structures. The argument is developed in a case study of the WTO.

Acknowledgements

I would also like to thank a number of individuals at Monitor Group with whom I worked to design and conduct the NGO Survey which provides empirical data for this thesis. I am particularly grateful for the time given by the respondents in what was a lengthy survey and interview process.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Focus of the thesis ....................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Review of Existing Studies Relevant to the Topic...................................................... 34 1.3 Definition of Civil Society .......................................................................................... 38

The need for reform: the example of the International Monetary Fund as a brief illustration ................................................................................................................... 43 1.4a The IMF: functions, procedures and processes........................................... 43 1.4b PRSPs and conditionality: undermining democracy in developing states .. 46 1.4c Voting shares and contributions.................................................................. 53 1.4d Transparency and accountability................................................................. 65

Summary of thesis: chapter outline............................................................................. 69

Introduction ................................................................................................................. 75

Historical context: the rise of civil society participation in IGOs............................... 77

Current role of NGOs in global governing institutions............................................... 84 2.3a IGOs: are they ‘undemocratic’ and can they be ‘democratic’?................... 84 2.3b The contribution of NGOs to IGO decision-making .................................. 92 2.3c Northern and Southern NGOs: imbalance of power ................................... 97

The use of ‘soft power’ by NGOs: advantages and problems .................................... 99

NGO use of ‘soft power plus’: advantages and problems......................................... 103

Formal decision rights for NGOs: advantages and problems ................................... 105 2.6a Evolution of environmental NGOs into the German Green Party ............ 111 2.6b NGO accountability: accreditation and self-regulation............................. 118 2.6c NGO accountability: election and democratic legitimacy ........................ 128 2.6d Capacity-building ...................................................................................... 130

Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 139

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 142

Multi-stakeholder partnerships—participatory, soft power only ............. 156 3.2b Global Networks—tripartite participatory/‘networked governance’, soft

Global Forum of Civil Society—tripartite participatory, soft power only 158 3.2d Advisory Body of National Parliamentarians—representative, soft power

Elected Global Assembly—representative, soft power only ..................... 160 3.2f World Parliament—representative, with decision rights/legislative powers165

Collective Management: Elected NGO representatives with formal decision rights 167

Screening and election mechanisms.......................................................................... 179 3.4a Case Study of the electoral process and function of the ICC.................... 181 3.4b Case study of the electoral process and function of the ILO .................... 182 3.4c Representation in the new Collective Management structure and its

The problem of enforcement ..................................................................... 193

Potential objections to the Collective Management system...........................197

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 201 PART 1: THE INDIVIDUAL AND MOTIVES FOR COOPERATION ........................ 205 4.2 Hobbes ...................................................................................................................... 205 4.3 Hume ......................................................................................................................... 207 4.4 Rawls ......................................................................................................................... 209 4.5 McClennen ................................................................................................................ 213 4.6 Motives for adhering to the institutions of Collective Management......................... 216 PART 2: LIBERAL INDIVIDUALISM IN A GLOBAL WORLD ................................ 217 4.7 Modern liberalism ..................................................................................................... 217 4.8 Individualism vs. communitarianism ........................................................................ 221 4.9 Utilitarianism vs. liberalism ...................................................................................... 228

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 230 5.2 Rawls’s view on domestic justice ............................................................................. 230 5.3 Rawls’s views on global justice: (1) are decent, illiberal states to be tolerated? ...... 234 5.4 Rawls’s views on global justice: (2) global distributive justice................................ 241 PART2: COSMOPOLITANISM.....................................................................................250 5.5 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 250 5.6 Cosmopolitanism, liberal individualism and global justice ...................................... 254 5.7 The ‘3x3=3’ model as a system of multi-level governance ...................................... 261 5.8 Collective Management and cosmopolitan multi-level citizenship .......................... 272 5.9 Collective Management and ‘overlapping consensus’.............................................. 275

CHAPTER 6: THE WTO—A CASE STUDY ................................................................. 280

6.2a 6.2b 6.2c

CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION—PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS FOR CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL GOVERNANCE..................... 358

APPENDIX 1B: Methodology and Sample Selection for the Interviews....................... 371

APPENDIX 3: Official Decision-Making Processes at the WTO ................................... 396 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................... 404