Governance including Government: Multiple Actors in Global Governance

Abstract

This article scrutinizes, firstly, the concept of ‘global governance,’ and by its elucidation, we illuminate the concept of ‘governance.’ In regard to this elucidation, we refer to some issues of global warming and its solutions, poor South dependency and its transformation, and analyze theoretical bases of dependency theory, world system theory, peace studies, neo-liberalism and constructivism in international relations theory. Through such a pathway, secondly, we analyze the different connotations of ‘globalization’ and ‘globalism’ in confronting with neo-liberal theorist Robert Keohane, and shed light on the ambiguity of his concept ‘globalism.’ After the unilateral ruling of the United States, its magisterial attitude has been blamed and it has been exposed the criticism of anti-Americanism. Globalization has been considered as Americanization, and it is the reason that anti-Americanism has occurred. However, Koehane and his co-editor Peter Katzenstein, a theorist of constructivism, are reluctant to admit such a present condition. Leaving behind the light of his own countenance of Americanism, we think about, thirdly, globalization has entered into another phase to promote ‘virtualization’ and governance by networks, and globalization has inspired a shift in activities away from the state, i.e. the ‘hollowing out of the sate’ in the globalized society. It is true that the age of anarchical society of state-centric framework was over, and the trilogy of multiple actors, such as nation states, TNCs and NGOs, is forming the governance by networks. However, among tiers of global, regional, national and local level, especially in the framework of national level, we cannot but think the state, i.e. the central government remains to be the administrative core and take an important role of governance. Accordingly, in our conclusion, the present governing framework is composed of ‘governance including government,’ instead of James Rosenau’s coinage of ‘governance without government.’