Global governance through transnational network organizations - the scope and limitations of civil society self-organization

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the scope and limitations of global governance through civil society self-organisation. The case of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which is now deemed a success, has been selected to demonstrate this phenomenon at work. What is involved here is a globally distributed environmental label for the certification of sustainably managed forests. The FSC shows how a private civil society regime can be implemented, how its implementation can be controlled and how violations can be sanctioned. It may be stated that the case of the Forest Stewardship Council is a form of global governance without nation-state involvement that can be viewed as a complete alternative to global governance through nation states. The rapid spread of the FSC system was enhanced by the dynamic combination of civil society self-organisation with market mechanisms. Moreover, the FSC system fills a gap that arose from the political failure at the level of international regimes. However, it has become clear that national forest protection standards are needed for the FSC system to function smoothly. The FSC system cannot replace national legislation and its implementation by an effective administration. The fact that the FSC not only can rely on its own internal means of sanction (i.e. withdrawal of certification), but also can resort to boycotts as a potential external instrument of sanction is undoubtedly a key factor behind the success of the FSC. However, the analysis also shows the limits of global governance through self-organisation: as no nation state has the norm-setting monopoly, the FSC system competes with other certification systems in many countries throughout the world.

(From abstract)