Relations with Civil Society

Abstract This chapter examines the forms, consequences, and challenges of civil society involvement in contemporary global governance. It is organized as follows. The first section considers definitions of civil society. The second section maps the various involvements of civil society actors in global regulatory processes. The third section surveys different theoretical understandings of the relationship between civil society and global governance. The fourth section assesses the substantive impacts of civil society interventions in global governance, that is, how NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) and other civil society groups affect institutional developments, agendas, decisions, discourses, and deeper structures of global governance. The fifth section considers the relationship between civil society and legitimacy in global governance. The conclusion includes several suggestions for future enhancement of civil society engagement of global-scale regulation.