The organizational ecology of global governance

Abstract

The ecology of governance organizations (GOs) matters for what is or is not governed, what legitimate powers any governor may hold, and whose political preferences are instantiated in rules. The array of actors who comprise the current system of global governance has grown dramatically in recent decades. Especially notable has been the growth of private governance organizations (PGOs). Drawing on organizational ecology, I posit that the rise of PGOs is both required and facilitated by disagreements between states that block the creation of what might be otherwise effective intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). In a form of “double-negative regulation,” states block IGOs, which in turn leave open niches that are then filled by PGOs, which then both complement and sometimes substitute for state law. The organizational ecology approach outlined here extends and refocuses inquiry in systematic ways that give us a fuller understanding of how and why PGOs have emerged as one of the most striking features of the contemporary world order. The key innovations in this paper are to (a) shift the level of analysis from single agents or populations of agents to the entire field of GOs, including states, IGOs, and PGOs and (b) draw on principles of ecology to understand the composition and dynamics of systems of governance.

Hybrid institutional complexes in global governance

“…This contributes to the nascent literature on complex global governance(Kahler, 2016;Lake, 2020;Ruggie, 2014).…”

“…Similarly, where "soft" institutional forms, such as IIGOs and PTROs, address problems, it may be more difficult for treaty bodies or FIGOs to generate the political will to take "hard" action on those problems -even if hard action would be superior, as with dilemmas of common interests (Lake, 2020;see Stein, 1982). 27 This argument applies even where soft governance (partially) fills gaps left by stronger institutions.…”

“…However, IR scholarship has yet to develop an analytical lens that encompasses all of these institutional forms (cf. Kahler, 2016;Lake, 2020;Ruggie, 2014). That is, it has yet to systematically analyze the distinctive structures, operations, governance benefits and risks of governance complexes populated by diverse institutional forms.…”

New Multilateralism: The United Nations and Governance in the Era of Nonstate Actors

“…The new interdependence approach argues that three key features of the current world order largely determine the way in which this world order is governed: overlapping rule systems from formal as well as informal international organizations, combined with new private governance schemes, in which a new constellation of political opportunity structures, at the national and global levels, shape the distribution of power and preferences as enacted in global governance according to the ability of state and nonstate actors to take advantage of these opportunities (Farrell and Newman 2016;Kahler 2016;Kahler and Lake 2003;Dellmuth and Bloodgood 2019;Vabulas and Snidal 2020;Hale, Held and Young 2013). While the extent of the change in world politics and global governance has been overstated by some and has not negated the importance and significance of states (Kahler 2016;Lake 2021;Eilstrup-Sangiovanni and Hofmann 2020), the power and potential of nonstate actors has increased dramatically. The ability of states to tackle global problems has decreased while the national effects of global phenomena have increased.…”

The organizational ecological resource framework of sustainability reporting: implications for corporate social reporting (CSR)

“…Frynas and Stephens (2015) suggest that the political strategy of CSR is to manage risk. CSR has an organizational ecological governance structure, where the corporate board comprises members from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) (Sisaye, 2021) or as, Lake (2021) referred to them, private governance organizations (PGOs). Ecologically, CSR is an SF organizational management strategy to manage business sustainability performance.…”