Inclusion and Exclusion in Global Governance: Determinants, Consequences, and Justifications

Abstract

Who is included or excluded from international organizations (IOs) and decision-making arenas crucially shapes whose interests matter and how norms evolve in global governance. As a result, inclusion and exclusion influence both the perception and the normative justification of legitimate international cooperation. In times of democratic backsliding, rising authoritarian influence, and growing power asymmetries, understanding these dynamics is essential for explaining and evaluating global governance, as well as the integrity of transnational cooperative initiatives. This panel examines inclusion and exclusion as key dimensions of global governance. It brings together conceptual, empirical, and normative perspectives to analyze when and why states, norms, and non-state actors are invited, marginalized, or expelled from IOs and related governance arrangements, and what these patterns mean for their performance and legitimacy. The panel addresses several interrelated questions. What political, economic, and normative factors drive inclusion and exclusion across different policy areas and governance levels? How do regime type and power asymmetries shape these patterns? How do these dynamics affect the performance, stability, and perceived legitimacy of IOs and other cooperative initiatives? To what extent are actors such as businesses, NGOs, experts, and civil society movements granted meaningful participation, and what explains their varying degrees of access? Why do some IOs selectively incorporate external rules while others do not, and how does this shape inter-organizational authority? Finally, under what conditions can exclusion be normatively justified, for example to safeguard institutional integrity or avoid complicity in wrongdoing, and when does inclusion remain a moral imperative? How should different types of IOs balance these tensions, given the competing risks of authoritarian influence, norm subversion, weakened effectiveness, and democratic erosion?

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