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The Two-Level Logic of Non-State Market Driven Global Governance

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Authority in the Global Political Economy

Part of the book series: International Political Economy Series ((IPES))

Abstract

The failure of governments and international institutions to effectively address significant global social and environmental problems has created a policy void that an array of voluntary, self-regulatory, shared governance and private arrangements are beginning to fill (Andrews 1998; Gunningham, Kagan and Thornton 2003; Harrison 1998; Howlett 2000; Rosenbaum 1995; Rosenau 2000; Ruggie 2004; Webb 2002). Despite increasing scholarly attention to these new policy arenas, most current research conflates these initiatives with what is arguably the most conceptually distinct and authoritative form of non-state global governance to arise in the last 50 years: non-state market driven (NSMD) governance systems (Cashore 2002). Their purpose is to develop socially and environmentally responsible practices in the marketplace by creating incentives and disincentives, through market supply chains, often through the use of a label that signals compliance to pre-established standards. Their distinctiveness is especially notable along two dimensions. First, they include governance institutions with decisionmaking and compliance mechanisms. Second, contrary to the vast majority of voluntary or self-regulatory initiatives, NSMD governance systems reject state sovereign authority, turning instead to markets (firms, consumers, as well as affected societal actors) for legitimacy to govern.

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Authors
  1. Steven Bernstein
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  2. Benjamin Cashore
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tübingen, Germany

    Volker Rittberger (Professor of Political Science and International Relations and Director of the Centre for International Relations/Peace and Conflict Studies) & Martin Nettesheim (Chair for German Public Law, Public International Law, European Law and International Political Theory) (Professor of Political Science and International Relations and Director of the Centre for International Relations/Peace and Conflict Studies) &  (Chair for German Public Law, Public International Law, European Law and International Political Theory)

  2. Centre for International Relations/Peace and Conflict Research, University of Tübingen, Germany

    Carmen Huckel (Research Associate) (Research Associate)

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© 2008 Steven Bernstein, Benjamin Cashore

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Bernstein, S., Cashore, B. (2008). The Two-Level Logic of Non-State Market Driven Global Governance. In: Rittberger, V., Nettesheim, M., Huckel, C. (eds) Authority in the Global Political Economy. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230584297_11

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