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Social Actors and Sovereignty in IGOs
Author(s) -
MeyerBisch Patrice
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
international social science journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.237
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 1468-2451
pISSN - 0020-8701
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2451.00348
Subject(s) - legitimacy , sovereignty , political economy , state (computer science) , democracy , diversity (politics) , political science , corporate governance , civil society , cultural diversity , sociology , law , politics , economics , finance , algorithm , computer science
The growing challenge to the authority of IGOs is the backlash of the legitimacy crisis currently affecting states, which are increasingly perceived as being unable to deal with major economic, ecological, social, and cultural policy issues. This weakens the IGOs although in fact they offer a possible solution insofar as they are forums and instruments of regional and world governance. One essential condition, however, if this solution is to be realistic and democratic, is that actors representing civil society, not only NGOs but also private‐sector actors (enterprises), should participate. After the economic and ecological protest movements, cultural demands are now growing stronger and constitute a major challenge for UNESCO. Can that organisation, within a relatively short time, identify the cultural actors whose interaction is vital if cultural diversity and individual cultural rights are to be respected? Can it give them their rightful place in its bodies? It is by focusing on this institutional objective and on the communication of knowledge that it can move away from an overly state‐oriented approach.