Network Mechanisms of Global Governance

Abstract

The topic of post-conflict governance has been investigated by both comparative politics and international relations communities. The burgeoning scholarship on the topic has significantly furthered our understanding of post-conflict governance issues. However, a full understanding of the network-based mechanisms intrinsic to post-conflict governance requires transcending traditional disciplinary boundaries. Networks comprising NGOs and IGOs operate at the nexus of domestic and international politics, an interface that has hitherto been relatively less explored. The study of networks of post-conflict governance indeed reveals the complexity of relationships between both local and global actors in post-conflict states, necessitating an integrative approach encompassing both comparative politics and international relations. In understanding the associations and interactions in post-conflict contexts between the grassroots and global levels—from the demobilized soldier to the diplomat— the study of network-based processes offers a dynamic framework for studying post-conflict governance, and one that challenges conventional domestic-international divides in political science.