Democracy and public-private partnerships in global governance

In: Democracy beyond the nation state? : transnational actors and global governance

Abstract

There has been a rapid proliferation of public₆private partnerships in the areas of human rights, environmental protection and global governance. Consequently, private actors such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and transnational companies have gained increasing authority in both public policy and regulation. Research into the democratic legitimacy of how these arrangements span the public-private divide is still in its infancy. However, this book furthers our understanding of how different forms of legitimacy and accountability interact, and highlights trade-offs between democratic values in partnership operations. It places the partnership trend in the context of broader theoretical discussion and explores a variety of tensions between, for instance, hierarchies and markets, the common good and private profit, and government and governance. In addition, the book presents research into global and national partnerships, particularly with regard to their democratic credentials.