In line with a critical theoretical perspective, which sees global environmental governance as embedded in the wider neoliberal global political economy, this article argues that accounts of global environmental governance grounded in orthodox International Relations lack an analysis of agency and power relations. This is particularly visible in the problematic assertion that global civil society-where social movements are said to be located-presents a democratizing force for global environmental governance. Through a critical conceptualization of agency the article analyzes social movements (including NGOs) and the challenges to global environmental governance, with an illustration of movements campaigning against toxic waste. It suggests that the potentiality of radical social movement agency is best understood through a neo-Gramscian approach, which identifies global civil society as simultaneously a site for the maintenance of, as well as challenges to, hegemony. It explores the extent to which global social movements constitute a counter-hegemonic challenge. Copyright (c) 2003 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Summary Environmental governance has become globalised as part of a wider agenda of global governance building within key institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The perceived need for global solutions to global environmental problems and calls for sustainable development have put environmental issues onto the agenda of the institutions of global governance, which, some argue, are becoming democratised through consultation with global civil society. This sphere of global civil society, however, is not unproblematic, hosting a diversity of actors such as social movements, business and industry who are clearly not on an equal footing. This article focuses on social movements attempts to influence the international trade agenda, but also takes a look at radical grassroots resistance movements that do not fit easily within this sphere. Their calls for structural transformation of the WTO highlight the lack of democracy and accountability within the WTO that will not be remedied merely through consultation with global civil society.
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