Billionaires in world politics: donors, governors, authorities
Journal
Journal of Global Ethics
ISSN
17449626
Type
book review
Date Issued
2022-11-29
Author(s)
Abstract (De)
As economic inequality has been on the rise, the increasing number of billionaires and their political activities have come under public scrutiny. Peter Hägel's book Billionaires in World Politics contributes to such scrutiny and allows to ask questions about responsibility, accountability, and legitimacy. It also adds to scholarship on individuals in world politics. Our comment provides a critical discussion of two specific aspects of Hägel’s analysis. First, we clarify that most of the book focuses on billionaires as transnational actors while few billionaires seem to exert influence on broader structures or processes of global governance. This clarification helps to understand the character of billionaires’ activities in world politics. Second, we reverse the perspective from which Hägel looks at billionaires. We point out that, while Hägel tends to look over the shoulders of the billionaires and mainly observes how they exercise influence in world politics, we argue that the other actors matter, too. More specifically, we maintain that billionaires’ roles in global governance are shaped through their specific recognition by international society (state actors) and/or by world society (non-state actors). This change in perspective sheds additional light on the conditions that affect the role(s) billionaires can play in world politics.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SEPS - Global Democratic Governance
Book title
Billionaires in World Politics
Volume
18
Number
2
Start page
201
End page
210
Pages
10
Official URL
Eprints ID
268164
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open.access
Name
Dingwerth.Eckl.2022_Billionaires.in.world.politics_donors.governors.authorities.pdf
Size
1.21 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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