The Global Agora: Privatising Policy Processes in Transnational Governance

Abstract

A global agora is emerging. The global agora is partly configured by new policy actions and partnerships where the idea of ‘public’ and ‘public sector’ is remade. However, the concept of transnational or ‘global public policy’ is neither an institutionalised nor accepted understanding of governing beyond the nation-state. Accordingly this chapter asks: What is global public policy? Where is it enacted? Who executes such policies? The first section sets out to delimit the discussion to transnational policy spaces where global public policies occur. These spaces are multiple in character and variety and will be collectively referred to as the ‘agora’. This section also addresses what is ‘global public policy’ and some difficulties with the use of the term as well as the way in which some higher education institutions are responding.