‘The More the Merrier’? Multistakeholderism, Hierarchy and the Challenges of Inclusion in Global Development Governance

‘The More the Merrier’? Multistakeholderism, Hierarchy and the Challenges of Inclusion in Global Development Governance Global governance is no longer the exclusive preserve of nation states. Today’s global governance architecture is characterised by increasingly complex, stratified networks of actors, structures, and processes. A key element of this shift has been the emergence and spread of ‘multistakeholderism’: the imperative that non-state actors ought to play a governance role alongside states in ostensibly more inclusive and horizontal institutional forms. Yet whether multistakeholderism indeed offers more inclusive and horizontal ‘network’ governance than its inter-state, multilateral predecessors is moot. While ardent activists denounce multistakeholderism as ‘the Great [corporate] Takeover’ (Manahan and Kumar 2021), scholars contend that ‘horizontal’ multistakeholder network modes unfold in the “shadow of hierarchy” (Barnett et al. 2021). As multistakeholderism is poised as a core element of 21st century global governance, inquiring into its nature and implications is an urgent task (Gleckman 2019; Raymond and DeNardis 2015). In this article we analyse the complex legitimacy dilemmas and power dynamics that arise from the insertion of global multistakeholderism into policy domains traditionally governed by inter-state multilateralism. Empirically, we focus our analysis on global development cooperation, a field traditionally dominated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) but now characterised by significant actor diversity, both state and non-state. We examine the case of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC), a uniquely innovative and inclusive multistakeholder partnership trying to encompass the full range of actors that now comprise the field. We specifically examine the challenges surrounding the inclusion of not only non-OECD countries that have hitherto been excluded from governance arrangements, but also non-state players such as private sector firms, foundations and civil society organisations. Our material derives from participant observation at the GPEDC’s secretariat across the OECD and the United Nations, as well as 120 interviews with key state and non-state stakeholders between 2014 and 2021. We find that while formal, non-state stakeholder inclusion at and through the GPEDC has notably advanced, states have remained “the [de facto] stars of the show” (Barnett et al. 2021, 2) in fundamental ways. Although multistakeholderism is assumed to offer more inclusive – and legitimate – governance by encompassing a broader array of actors, we contend that engaging non-state actors is ultimately subservient to the ‘master imperative’ of attaining broad, state-based engagement. In contrast to the inclusivity associated with multistakeholderism discourses and claims, we find that broad-based perceptions of legitimacy rest upon the inclusion of an exclusive number of nation states. Conceptually, we argue that de facto stratification dynamics and (inter-state) legitimacy considerations need to move to the centre of debates on how, why and in whose interest global governance evolves. Ultimately, we suggest that while a move back to an exclusively state-led hierarchical mode of governance is unlikely, the stratified dynamics favouring inter-governmental concerns are here to stay.