Beyond Networks: The Interlocutory Coalitions and Globalization of Democracy

Abstract

This chapter speculates on the future of supranational networks of civil society actors and related concerns. Four tensions are substantiated: first is the functioning of coalitions of civil society actors; second is the competition among different coalitions; third is the issue of uniqueness (i.e. when a supranational regulator refuses to co-operate with a coalition of civil society actors on the basis of rules or standards formerly approved by a different regulator, assuming their uniqueness); fourth is the issue of creativity – i.e. the loss of creativity and experimentation that might occur when the same legal standards and practices are massively recycled from different coalitions of civil society actors. This chapter investigates about the negative influence that these tensions may have on the impact of the supranational networks of civil society actors on the spread of methods of democratic governance at the supranational level. Moving from this, a second area of concern is introduced in this chapter – i.e. the impact that the supranational networks of civil society actors have on the reconfiguration of individuals’ rights, entitlements and responsibilities in the global arena. An issue that leads directly to a third, and last, area of concern: the convergence between the European administrative law and the administrative law of global relevance.