In person icon Contested World Orders II: Agents of Contestation in Global Governance

Abstract

The increased institutionalization and transnationalization 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. Parallel to these developments, we observe contestation within key international organizations, in particular by so-called "rising powers" such as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and by transnational nongovernmental organizations. These two groups of actors contest international organizations on different grounds and with different objectives: NGOs criticize in-transparent procedures and demand access to the decision-making process, "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. Against the backdrop of these developments, the “agents of contestation” deserve further attention. Who are the relevant actors addressing international institutions with their demands and criticism? What notions of political order inform their judgments of global governance arrangements, and what strategies of their implementation can be distinguished? The diversity of actors – states versus the increasingly relevant non-state actors, rising powers and established ones, as well as authoritarian regimes and (the publics of) Western democratic states – provides ample opportunity for coalition-building and competition alike. Against this background, what determines the occurrence of conflict and cooperation among agents of contestation? A second panel, proposed separately, will deal not with the agents but with the processes of contestation themselves. List of Paper-Givers: Klaus Dingwerth/Kristina Hahn, James Hollway, Karsten Jung, Alexandros Tokhi/Sophie Eisentraut, Klaus Dieter Wolf

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