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Private Standards and Global Governance

Private Standards and Global Governance Legal and Economic Perspectives

Author: Axel Marx; Miet Maertens; Johan F. M. Swinnen
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 9781849808743
Published In: August 2012
Format: Hardback , 328 pages
Jurisdiction: International ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

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‘This book draws out the profound implications and transformational dynamics of multi-level global governance of natural resources, labour standards and particularly food safety. The hybrid private–public governance of these supply chains has in some contexts made large western retailer groups more dominant regulators than states. Yet the new regulatory governance is more pluralistic in its flux than a shift from state to retailer hegemony. Governance by contracts of global sway more than government by statutes of states drives regulatory innovation. Legal entrepreneurs and model mongers of many stripes inspire this innovation. Political theory is yet to come to grips with the significance of the shifts this thoughtful collection ably traces.’
– John Braithwaite, Australian National University

‘This edited volume represents a major contribution to scholarship on the role of private standards in global governance. It brings together a wealth of important new research written by a distinguished group of scholars. It is noteworthy not only for the breadth and depth of its case-studies, but by its extensive analysis of the legal dimensions of private standard setting and enforcement.’
– David Vogel, University of California, Berkeley, US

Private regulatory initiatives aim to govern supply chains across the globe according to a set of environmental, food safety and/or social standards. Until now, literature on the topic has been fragmented and divided by research fields. However, this unique and comprehensive book bridges these disciplinary and thematic research lines, bringing together an interdisciplinary group of leading scholars to identify key issues.

The expert contributors assess the state-of-the-art with regard to private regulation of food, natural resources and labour conditions. They begin with an introduction to, and discussion of, several leading existing private standards, and go on to assess private food standards and their legitimacy and effectiveness in the context of the global trade regime.

This truly multidisciplinary assessment of the scope and importance of private standards as a governance tool in a globalizing world will prove to be an enlightening read for a wide-ranging audience encompassing: academics, students, researchers, policymakers and analysts focusing on private forms of governance in several sectors including economics, law, politics, development, environment and agriculture.

1. Introduction: Private Standards and Global Governance
Axel Marx, Miet Maertens, Johan Swinnen and Jan Wouters

PART I: GLOBAL GOVERNANCE THROUGH PRIVATE STANDARDS: THE CASES OF NATURAL RESOURCES, FOOD AND LABOUR CONDITIONS
2. Governing Global Commons: The Public-Private Protection of Fish and Forests
Frans van Waarden

3. Private Standards in Forestry: Assessing the Legitimacy and Effectiveness of the Forest Stewardship Council
Axel Marx, Emilie Bécault and Jan Wouters

4. Private Standards in Global Agri-food Chains
Spencer Henson and John Humphrey

5. Market-driven Promotion of International Labour Standards in Southeast Asia: The Corporatization of Social Justice
Ludo Cuyvers and Tim De Meyer

PART II: PRIVATE FOOD STANDARDS AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE: ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES
6. Private Standards, Global Food Supply Chains and the Implications for Developing Countries
Miet Maertens and Johan Swinnen

7. Globalization, Private Standards and Poverty: Evidence from Senegal
Liesbeth Colen, Miet Maertens and Johan Swinnen

PART III: PRIVATE FOOD STANDARDS AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE: LEGAL PERSPECTIVES
8. Transnational Governance by Contract: Private Regulation and Contractual Networks in Food Safety
Fabrizio Cafaggi

9. Food Safety-related Private Standards: The WTO Perspective
Gretchen H. Stanton

10. Private Standards, Global Governance and International Trade: The Case of Global Food Safety Governance
Jan Wouters, Axel Marx and Nicolas Hachez

11. Conclusion: Private Standards – a Global Governance Tool?
Axel Marx, Miet Maertens, Johan Swinnen and Jan Wouters

Index