Governing the Governors: The Global Metagovernance of Fair Trade and Sustainable Forestry Production

Abstract

To promote environmentally sustainable corporate behavior, a complex system of global private governance operates where civil society groups play dominant roles. We argue that the concept of “metagovernance” developed in the public administration literature helps scholars and practitioners make sense of the constellation of actors, structures, and processes that have emerged in the field of global private governance. This article advances the metagovernance research agenda by providing a comparative application of the concept to two global private governance schemes: the fair trade and sustainable forest product certification systems. We examine the key organizations, arrangements, and relationships that constitute these systems to demonstrate that metagovernance in this sphere is produced heterarchically: multiple organizations within global private governance schemes are mutually responsible for their own coordination. We argue that employing metagovernance as an analytical tool enables the identification and appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of complex systems for “the governance of governance” from a holistic perspective. Related Articles Alejo, Antonio. 2019. “Contemporary Diplomacy, Global Politics, and Nongovernmental Actors: Dilemmas of the Multistakeholder Mechanism of Participation in Mexico.” Politics & Policy 47 (1): 105‐126. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12284 Bance, Philippe, and Angelique Chassy. 2017. “The Rollout of the Multilevel Governance System: A Source of Reworking the Contingent Valuation Method?” Politics & Policy 45 (6): 1080‐1107. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12236 Burau, Viola, and Carole Clavier. 2018. “Understanding Gaps in the Coexistence between Different Modes of Governance: A Case Study of Public Health in Schools in a Multilevel System.” Politics & Policy 46: 604‐629. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12269 Related Media FLOCERT. N.d. “How it Works.” https://www.flocert.net/solutions/fairtrade-resources/how-it-works/ Forest Stewardship Council. N.d. “Who We Are.” https://ca.fsc.org/en-ca/about-us fsc‐watch.com. 2016. “Jari Certificate Suspension: Why Was it Ever Certified in the First Place?” https://fsc-watch.com/2015/12/22/jari-certificate-suspension-why-was-it-ever-certified-in-the-first-place/

Multi-stakeholder partnerships: a catalyst to achieve sustainable development goals

“…Meta-governance is defined as “a means by which to produce some degree of coordinated governance, by designing and managing sound combinations of hierarchical, market and network governance, to achieve the best possible outcomes” (Meuleman, 2018, p. 15). According to Murphy–Gregory and Gale (2019, p. 579), “the purpose of meta-governance is to ‘glue’ together governance contributions of multiple actors to forge effective governance systems”. It is about how to combine seemingly contradictory styles, such as top-down and bottom-up, hierarchical and networked, while constantly flexibly adapting to the given “governance environment” to deliver results (Meuleman and Niestroy, 2015).…”

Fair trade governance: revisiting a framework to analyse challenges and opportunities for sustainable development towards a green economy

“…Given these critical perspectives, a common proposal to address the issues identified is to employ the metagovernance conceptualisation approach, which has been reconceptualised and extensively explored by Murphy-Gregory and Gale [ 16 ] to analyse the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Fairtrade International. In addition to promoting convergence among private standards—and risking not achieving it because there are too many interests involved in standard setting or an “ideological commitment” [ 61 , p. 804]—“meta-standardisation” assists individual organisations in the process of rule-making in transnational relations [ 61 , p. 807].…”

“…Agriculture and food systems are resource intensive sectors intricately linked to climate change, therefore “designing better food production and distribution systems given the scarcity of water and energy and their roles to run food systems” [ 12 , p. 1000] is necessary to improve the existing models to address climate change risks. From Cadman’s perspective, “the many parties both creating, and being affected by environmental change, must find ways of collectively solving problems of universal nature” [ 16 , p. 18]. Schemes such as fair trade may also benefit from improved metagovernance arrangements, with metagovernance interpreted as “the management of governance networks that involve multiple participants and/or components” [ 16 , p. 6].…”

“…From Cadman’s perspective, “the many parties both creating, and being affected by environmental change, must find ways of collectively solving problems of universal nature” [ 16 , p. 18]. Schemes such as fair trade may also benefit from improved metagovernance arrangements, with metagovernance interpreted as “the management of governance networks that involve multiple participants and/or components” [ 16 , p. 6]. We therefore adopt and adapt an already tested analytical framework to evaluate the governance structures of FT organisations.…”

“…While constituting a type of private initiative, or social enterprise, the reported aims of fair trade organisations can align with progressive civil society values and interests. In the environmental context, this is a sphere where non-state actors or transnational organisations have created space and elaborated new roles due to the lack of preparedness or expertise of states to address environmental challenges [ 15 , 16 , 25 – 30 ]. Moreover, as Abbot and Snidal [ 28 ] note, other roles matter beyond environmental issues, including human rights, labour rights, and other socioeconomic demands not always promptly or efficiently addressed by states.…”