The book "Global Citizenship in Action? Civil Society and Accountable Global Governance" explores in what ways, to what extents, and with what effects civil society activities contribute to greater accountability on the part of global governance institutions. It is generally accepted that global-scale regulatory organisations are insufficiently answerable to those whose lives they (often deeply) affect. It is also widely suggested that citizen action groups like NGOs and social movements can increase the democratic accountability of transplanetary governance agencies. This book examines these issues through a comparative analysis of 13 global regulatory arrangements.

The book delivers significant value-added on several fronts. First, the work develops a clear and explicit framework for systematic assessment of the relationship between ‘global governance’, ‘civil society’ and ‘accountability’. Second, the book considers a broad range of global regulatory apparatuses, not only the old-style multilateralism of intergovernmental bodies, but also newer forms such as informal transgovernmental relations, interregional constructions, private regulatory mechanisms, and hybrid multistakeholder forums. Third, the volume assembles expert researchers for the various case studies, with authors drawn from 11 countries on 5 continents. Fourth, the findings emerge from a carefully executed process of practitioner-researcher engagement, in which draft papers have been critically evaluated by officials from the regulatory agencies concerned as well as leading civil society campaigners on the respective institutions.

In short, the book is novel and important in its subject-matter, its conceptual frame, its empirical coverage, its high-quality international participation, and its policy relevance.