The Origins of Global Civil Society and Nonterritorial Governance: Some Empirical Reflections

Abstract

In this article, we examine two possibly competing hypotheses on the ori gins of civil The first suggests that civil society has developed rationally over a long period of time, continuous with the development of domestic civil society in democracies. The second postu lates that civil society is a relatively new phenomenon, one that has emerged to respond to unprecedented challenges to democracy as a result of globalization. Drawing on a case study of politics surrounding plant biotechnology, we evaluate these two hypotheses. Our findings sup port the second, more institutionalist, possibility. We then use these findings to comment on how civil society might be defined and how it relates to democracy. KEYWORDS: globalization, civil society, democracy, plant biotechnology, nonstate actors. In contemporary discussions of governance, many scholars have posited the possibility that networks of new social movements, publicly oriented nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and other nonstate actors have the potential to create pressures for increased transparency and accountability. A more legitimate democratic politics would follow such developments. Such networks are often seen to be the base of global civil society. Understanding the origins of civil society is important if we are to adequately assess its possible contribution to addressing the challenge of democratic governance in an era of globalization. In this article, we evaluate two different views about the origins of civil The first suggests that civil society has been developing rationally over a long period of time, continuous with the development of domestic civil society in democracies. The second postulates that civil society is a relatively new phenomenon that has emerged to respond to unprecedented challenges to democracy as a result of globalization. We offer some initial research and reflections on these hypotheses. Using a case study of political activity in the area of plant biotechnology, we find evidence that the second hypothesis?focused on the novelty and recent origins of civil society?is more credible. Not only is the for