Global Governance Networks

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the dynamics and political consequences of an ongoing proliferation of global governance networks in areas such as global environmental protection and sustainable development. The chapter begins by clarifying the theoretical concept of networked governance. It discusses how actors within global governance networks relate to one another, how different network structures serve to empower or disempower particular actors, and how different types of global governance networks—or differently structured networks—may vary in terms of performance and outputs. The theoretical discussion is illustrated by drawing on empirical examples from global governance networks in the fields of sustainable development, maritime conservation, and environmental protection broadly speaking.