Contested World Orders I: Authority and Contestation of International Institutions

Abstract

The increased institutionalisation and transnationalisation of world politics challenges the traditional notion of sovereignty which was based on the principle of non-intervention into domestic affairs and the consensus principle for agreements among states. This in turn raises questions about the nature and extent of authority and legitimacy beyond the nation state. Important international institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF or the EU increasingly take their decisions by majority voting, and have acquired important competencies such as monitoring or rule interpretation. Parallel to these developments, we observe contestation within key international organisations, in particular by so-called "rising powers" such as the BRICS and by transnational nongovernmental organisations. These two groups of actors contest international organisations on different grounds and with different objectives: NGOs criticise in-transparent procedures and demand access, "rising powers" demand more egalitarian participation among states. However, both groups of actors agree in their criticism of the "pro-Western" bias of international institutions. With a focus on these processes of contestation this panel addresses a set of inter-related questions: Firstly, why are some fields and issues of global governance highly contentious whereas others appear rather consensual? What characteristics of international institutions and of the policies pursued by them are most likely to provoke opposition? If demands and criticism arise, what normative grounds are they based on? Apart from the central issues of contention, the process of contestation itself deserves further inquiry: Whose perspectives inform the debate, whose remain marginalised, and how do they relate? Finally, do international institutions react to the increasing pressure? A second panel, proposed separately, will focus on agents of contestation in international institutions.

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