Description
Book Synopsis`This book offers an exciting new approach to assess and remedy the deficiencies of international rule making. The existing system is prone to the epistemic failings of elites and suffers from the lack democratic responsiveness. Both flaws ought to be corrected by introducing governing rules that allow for challenge and dissent. The book is perfect reading for scholars and practitioners who are interested in placing the international order on a more secure footing.'
- Beate Kohler-Koch, University of Mannheim, Germany
`A thoughtful and authoritative work on international rule making and a fresh approach to the challenges it poses to democracy.'
- John Braithwaite, Australian National University
Frank Vibert examines the fundamental issues involved in attempts to rethink international institutions and their rule making procedures. He analyses the basic problems with the existing system and the main approaches to its reform.
The book repudiates the idea that there are any simple institutional `fixes' for current problems, such as relying on the G20 to coordinate global rule making, and also rejects more ambitious attempts to prescribe new general organising principles for world governance. It calls instead for specific remedies for specific problems. The author recommends new procedures for all international rule making, so that both expert groups and governments are subject to much stronger external checks on what they do.
Democracy and Dissent will be essential reading for both academics and postgraduate students of risk management and regulation in economics, international relations, international business, political science and international law for the discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of expert rulemaking groups and their procedures. Practitioners in international organisations, NGOs and domestic regulatory bodies will also find this timely resource invaluable. The book opens up new areas for empirical investigation and in the discussion of theory.
Trade Review‘This is a book that has been crying out to be written for a very long time. . . Frank Vibert’s work is a valuable contribution to the debate. . . the book is a very worthwhile read with many interesting ideas to contribute to the future development of international rule-making, and for those involved in policy formation and regulation, whether at national or international level, the book should be compulsory reading.’ -- Richard Parlour, Central Banking
‘This book offers an exciting new approach to assess and remedy the deficiencies of international rule making. The existing system is prone to the epistemic failings of elites and suffers from the lack democratic responsiveness. Both flaws ought to be corrected by introducing governing rules that allow for challenge and dissent. The book is perfect reading for scholars and practitioners who are interested in placing the international order on a more secure footing.’ -- Beate Kohler-Koch, University of Mannheim, Germany
‘A thoughtful and authoritative work on international rule making and a fresh approach to the challenges it poses to democracy.’ -- John Braithwaite, Australian National University
Table of ContentsContents: Introduction 1. ‘How False were our Postulates’ 2. Managing Strain – Styles of International Rule Making 3. Analytic Frameworks 4. The Choice of Venue 5. The Choice of Instruments 6. The Sources of Failure 7. Diagnosing the Democratic Deficit 8. Challenge Systems and the Rule Makers 9. Dissonance and Democracy 10. Conclusions Appendix A: Transaction Costs and Styles of Organising Appendix B: Definitions of Selected Cognitive Terms Bibliography Index
