Has global governance come to an end?
Type
conference contribution
Date Issued
2026-04-07
Author(s)
Abstract
Since the mid-1990s, a broad literature on ‘global governance’ has emerged. This literature has sought to describe, map, analyse, and evaluate transformations in the 'literally millions' of overlapping spheres of authority that extend across borders. How and by whom is global governance conducted? Which forms does it take? Why and how have these forms changed over time? What consequences do the manifold structures and processes of global governance and for whom? In recent years, however, public and academic debates have witnessed a turn towards ‘geopolitics’. The comeback of this concept suggests three developments: that world politics has become less organized and more transactional; that it has returned to a more state-centric mode of interaction; and that authority in world politics has become concentrated in the hands of only a few actors. So, has global governance has come to an end? In responding to this question, we distinguish between global governance as a ‘vision’, a ‘thing’, and a ‘lens’. First, we argue that global governance as a specific vision of rules-based multilateralism that emerged in the 1990s is indeed confronting an existential challenge. Second, we contend that global governance as a phenomenon is changing, not ending. Third, we claim that global governance as a specific analytical perspective on world politics remains essential to document these changes.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
No
Event Title
ECPR Joint Session of Workshops, Workshop "Global Governance in Times of Disruption"
Event Location
Innbsruck, Austria
Event Date
7-10 April 2026
Subject(s)
Division(s)