Abstract
Private governance raises important questions about democratic representation. Rule making is rarely based on electoral authorisation by those in whose name rules are made—typically a requirement for democratic legitimacy. This requires revisiting the role of representation in input legitimacy in transnational governance, which remains underdeveloped. Focussing on private labour governance, we contrast two approaches to the transnational representation of worker interests in global supply chains: non-governmental organisations providing representative claims versus trade unions providing representative structures. Studying the Bangladesh Accord for Fire and Building Safety, we examine their interaction along three dimensions of democratic representation: 1) creating presence, 2) authorisation, and 3) accountability to affected constituents. We develop a framework that explains when representative claims and structures become complementary but also how the politics of input legitimacy shapewhoseinterests get represented. We conclude by deriving theoretical and normative implications for transnational representation and input legitimacy in global governance.
Highlights
Private governance raises important questions about democratic representation
We focus on the role of self-appointed labour rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in providing “representative claims” and the role of unions in providing “representative structures.”
Our findings examine the interaction between representative claims made by labour rights NGOs and unions’ representative structures in establishing and implementing the Bangladesh Accord along the three dimensions of creating presence for, authorisation by and accountability to affected constituents
Summary
Private governance raises important questions about democratic representation. Rule making is rarely based on electoral authorisation by those in whose name rules are made—typically a requirement for democratic legitimacy. Various unelected actors “self-appoint” as representatives (Montanaro, 2012) in myriad and partly overlapping private governance regimes to protect human and worker rights (Fransen, 2012) These self-appointed representatives, including campaign groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), participate in transnational rule making on behalf of citizens, consumers, local communities, workers and others in largely unregulated global supply chains but lack an explicit mandate to represent. They are often highly effective in bringing issues of labour and human. We do not argue the Accord as the perfect reflection of the “authentic” preferences of Bangladeshi workers but focus on the specific issue of the representation of worker interests in the area of workplace safety
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