Informal Governance in World Politics

Informality in global governance has grown significantly since the 1990s, with informal intergovernmental organizations, transnational public-private governance initiatives, and informal networks shaping agendas and outcomes. This volume explores these three types of informality and their theoretical perspectives and variables, using empirical chapters to apply them to diverse issue areas and cross-cutting issues. It also sets out a research agenda on informality in global governance, including its normative implications.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 30 May 2024
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, cooperation among nations was primarily governed by international regimes and formal intergovernmental organizations. However, since the 1990s, informal modes of global governance, such as informal intergovernmental organizations and transnational public-private governance initiatives, have gained significant prominence. Even within formal intergovernmental organizations, informal means of influence and informal procedures have a significant impact on outcomes, while informal networks shape agendas around all these institutions. This volume explores and analyzes these three types of informality in governance: informality of, within, and around institutions. An introductory chapter traces the rise of informal governance and suggests a range of theoretical perspectives and variables that may explain this surge. Empirical chapters then apply these and other explanations to diverse issue areas and cross-cutting issues, often using newly developed datasets or original case study research. The concluding chapter sets out a research agenda on informality in global governance, including its normative implications.

ISBN-13: 9781009180535