Deliberative capacity in the intellectual property rights regime complex

Abstract

World politics is increasingly described in terms of regime complexity – the proliferation of regulatory arrangements operating within the same policy domain. This concept has been fruitfully applied to a variety of fields including trade, climate change, human rights, energy, refugee and security politics. Although empirical work on regime complexity has burgeoned, normative work has lagged behind. In this article, I explore whether regime complexity hinders or promotes deliberative democracy. This focus is motivated in response to the much-discussed global democratic deficit. I undertake this analysis by applying the recent ‘systemic turn’ in deliberative theory. Specifically, I draw upon John Dryzek’s notion of deliberative capacity to assess whether regime complexity provides space to develop inclusive, authentic and consequential deliberation. To gain traction on this argument, I look at the regime complex which governs intellectual property rights. In addition to this normative assessment, I also begin probing the scope conditions under which deliberative capacity arises. I suggest that forum shopping, inter-institutional competition and decentralized authority – all core features of regime complexity – enable (but do not guarantee) deliberative capacity. Overall, I argue that treating regime complexes as deliberative systems opens novel ways of thinking about global democratization.