Author: Jan Aart Scholte

As an initial step in exploring the relationship between civil society and accountability in global governance, this opening chapter clarifies the core terms of the analysis. The three parts of the chapter successively address the three central concepts. The first section identifies ‘global governance’ as a complex of rules and regulatory institutions that apply to transplanetary jurisdictions and constituencies. In line with globalisation as a major general trend of contemporary history, global governance has grown to unprecedented proportions and significance in recent decades. The second part of the chapter discusses ‘accountability’ in terms of processes whereby an actor answers for its conduct to those whom it affects. Accountability is understood to be achieved through a combination of transparency, consultation, evaluation and redress. Shortfalls of accountability (especially democratic accountability) in respect of global governance agencies constitute a major challenge to the delivery of effective and legitimate public policy today. The third part of the chapter then introduces ‘civil society’ as a political arena where associations of citizens seek, from outside political parties, to shape societal rules. By setting out this framework of analysis, the opening chapter lays the conceptual ground for the thirteen case studies that follow.