GOVERNINGWITHOUTGOVERNMENT? THE PRIVATE GOVERNANCE OF FOREST CERTIFICATION IN SWEDEN

Abstract

The role and capacity of the state are changing. Some researchers argue that the state is transforming, strategically adapting to new circumstances, while others see a development of governing arrangements that are autonomous from the state, governing ' without ' government. This article assesses the governing without government thesis through the case of forest certifi cation introduced in Sweden in the late 1990s. This is a case of private governance, the governing capacity of which is based on voluntary self-regulation rather than government authority, seemingly a prime example of governing without government. The results show that government nonetheless is involved with forest certifi cation through governance-oriented modes of governing: enabling and infl uencing the arrangements. Thus, what appeared to be a prime example of governing ' without ' government is better understood as governing ' with ' government.

International Forest Policy by International and Transnational Organizations

“…Recent empirical findings support this governmentality perspective and even suggest a crucial role for state agencies in forest certification and related politics Bartley, 2014;. According to this literature, state agencies can obstruct Sahide et al 2015b) or support certification initiatives (Hysing, 2009;Bell and Hindmoor, 2012).…”

“…In federal countries, like Argentina, with strong subnational institutions, stratification into provinces provides multiple coalition options for both national as well as actors from transnational regimes expanding the arenas of contestation. This exchange between private and public actors is necessary even in private governance where state bureaucracies are claimed to play a small but necessary role (Hysing, 2009;.…”

National Government Responses to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Fisheries Certification: Insights from Atlantic Canada

“…Indeed, scholars are 'bringing the state' into the study of putatively private social and environmental certification and labelling systems, sometimes conceptualised as non-state market-driven (NSMD) governance (Cashore 2002;Gulbrandsen 2010). Scholars have increasingly acknowledged that the future paths of third-party certification and labelling systems administered by organisations like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) will potentially develop through reinvigorated state processes or hybridised forms of authority and that such systems are fundamentally interconnected with governmental and inter-governmentalbased political and legal institutions and norms (Bartley 2007;Meidinger 2008: 284;McDermott et al 2009;Auld et al 2009: 190;Hysing 2009;Hallström and Boström 2010;Gale and Haward 2011;Lister 2011). However, we still lack detailed empirical analyses on the nature and extent of different state responses to and involvement in the implementation and maintenance of certification in particular sectors and in different jurisdictions.…”

Does the Government Selection Process Promote or Hinder Pluralism? Exploring the Characteristics of Voluntary Organizations Invited to Public Consultations

“…Public policies are being made in more informal ways, and the state is increasingly engaging in co-regulation, costeering in different policy networks, and partnerships in which voluntary organizations are encouraged to participate (Hysing, 2009;Richardson, 2000). Jacobsson and Sundström (2006) note that the number of informal and 'governance-oriented' networks and partnerships in the Government Offices of Sweden has grown significantly over time.…”

“…Since the 1990s, the Scandinavian governance style in general, and Sweden in particular, have experienced a decline in corporatist institutions in terms of both formal and normative institutional structures (Blom-Hansen, 2000;Lewin, 1994;Lindvall & Sebring, 2005). In addition, informal policymaking arenas such as networks and personal contacts with decision-makers, professionalized opinion formation and media contacts have gained momentum (Hysing, 2009;Öberg & Svensson, 2012).…”