TY - JOUR
T1 - The discursive democratisation of global climate governance
AU - Stevenson, Hayley
AU - Dryzek, John S.
PY - 2012/3
Y1 - 2012/3
N2 - The global governance of climate change represents one of the more profound and, to date, intractable sets of problems confronting humanity. Legitimacy, accountability, fairness, and representation matter as well as effectiveness. In the absence of effective centralised authority, these democratic norms need to be sought in a polycentric context. An approach to democratisation is advanced that de-emphasises authoritative formal institutions, and instead operates in the more informal realm of the engagement and contestation of discourses in global public spheres. Democracy here is conceptualised not in terms of elections and constitutions, but in aspirations for inclusive, competent, and dispersed reflexive capacity. Based on empirical analysis of discursive engagement in several structured settings, key challenges for improving the democratic quality of global climate governance are assessed.
AB - The global governance of climate change represents one of the more profound and, to date, intractable sets of problems confronting humanity. Legitimacy, accountability, fairness, and representation matter as well as effectiveness. In the absence of effective centralised authority, these democratic norms need to be sought in a polycentric context. An approach to democratisation is advanced that de-emphasises authoritative formal institutions, and instead operates in the more informal realm of the engagement and contestation of discourses in global public spheres. Democracy here is conceptualised not in terms of elections and constitutions, but in aspirations for inclusive, competent, and dispersed reflexive capacity. Based on empirical analysis of discursive engagement in several structured settings, key challenges for improving the democratic quality of global climate governance are assessed.
KW - climate change
KW - democracy
KW - discourse
KW - global governance
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84859334846&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09644016.2012.651898
DO - 10.1080/09644016.2012.651898
M3 - Article
SN - 0964-4016
VL - 21
SP - 189
EP - 210
JO - Environmental Politics
JF - Environmental Politics
IS - 2
ER -