The London School of Economics and Political Science Bridging the democratic gap: Can NGOs link local communities to international environmental institutions? Kathrin Irma Dombrowski A thesis submitted to the Department of International Relations of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, January 2013 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 92,850 words. Kathrin Irma Dombrowski 10th January 2013 2 Abstract How can NGOs contribute to strengthening the democratic legitimacy of international intergovernmental institutions? The thesis pursues two lines of enquiry in order to contribute to this discussion in the context of global environmental politics: it looks at the external claims and internal practices of NGOs. With regards to external claims the thesis investigates the democratic demands formulated by the NGO communities interacting with the UNFCCC and the CBD respectively. Demands for equitable representation at the intergovernmental level and for participation by civil society stakeholders are especially prominent among the NGOs engaged with the climate convention. The thesis finds a convergence around very similar democratic demands across the NGO community, most of which draw upon recurrent governance norms and existing instances of good practice within environmental institutions. The thesis then turns to the internal practices of large international environmental NGOs to test the assumption that these organisations have the potential to act as “links” or as “transmission belts” between local communities and global policymaking processes. It proposes the adoption of a representation perspective for analysing the contribution of civil society organisations, and provides case studies of three large international environmental NGOs (WWF, Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth) and of the two issue-specific civil society networks that organise NGO activities around the two UN conventions referred to above (the Climate Action Network and the CBD Alliance). The thesis shows that the potential for large NGOs to ‘represent’ local communities is shaped by organisational structures, decision-making processes, the strategy for bringing about change, funding sources, alliances and partnerships, and values. The findings underline the need to adopt a more differentiated understanding of the democratic contribution by civil society organisations to international intergovernmental institutions. 3 Table of Contents List of tables and diagrams....................................................................................................................6 List of abbreviations .................................................................................................................................8 Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................ 10 I. Introduction........................................................................................................ 11 i. Identifying the problem .......................................................................................................... 11 ii. Setting the scene: actors and context................................................................................ 14 iii. Case selection............................................................................................................................... 19 iv. Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 22 v. Thesis outline............................................................................................................................... 26 II. Democratic deficits in global governance and the role of NGOs...... 29 i. Linking citizens to international institutions ................................................................ 30 ii. Democratic deficits in global policy-making.................................................................. 33 iii. Filling the gap? NGOs and global democratic deficits ................................................ 41 iv. Existing accounts of NGOs as links ..................................................................................... 51 v. Conclusion and next steps...................................................................................................... 57 III. Global environmental governance........................................................... 61 i. The institutions of global environmental governance............................................... 62 ii. The ideational underpinnings of modern environmentalism ................................ 71 iii. Strengthening participation in global environmental governance ...................... 77 iv. The role of environmental NGOs......................................................................................... 84 v. Conclusion..................................................................................................................................... 90 IV. The external dimension: NGO democratic demands in the global climate and biodiversity conventions. ............................................................. 92 PART ONE: The United Nations climate and biodiversity conventions and the role of NGOs ............................................................................................................................................................. 93 i. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ......................... 94 ii. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.........................................102 PART TWO: Representation and participation deficits and NGO responses ..............112 iii. Representation inequities and NGO responses ..........................................................113 iv. Participation deficits and NGO responses.....................................................................126 v. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................142 V. The internal dimension: NGOs as democratic links between affected communities and international institutions ................................................150 4 i. What is representation?........................................................................................................152 ii. The challenge of ‘taking representation for a walk’..................................................158 iii. Conceptualising NGOs as representatives in global governance ........................168 iv. Research questions .................................................................................................................183 v. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................185 VI. Responsiveness in centralised NGOs: WWF and Greenpeace .......187 i. WWF: a global conservation organisation ....................................................................189 ii. Exploring forms of responsiveness in WWF ................................................................192 iii. Responsiveness in WWF: motives, challenges and effects ...................................199 iv. Greenpeace: getting the world to take notice..............................................................208 v. Exploring forms of responsiveness in Greenpeace ...................................................211 vi. Responsiveness in Greenpeace: motives, challenges and effects........................220 vii. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................226 VII. Responsiveness in networks: Friends of the Earth International, the Climate Action Network and the CBD Alliance .....................................227 i. Friends of the Earth International: building global solidarity..............................227 ii. Exploring forms of responsiveness within FoEI.........................................................229 iii. Responsiveness in FoEI: motives, challenges and effects.......................................237 iv. The Climate Action Network...............................................................................................243 v. Exploring forms of responsiveness in CAN...................................................................244 vi. Responsiveness in CAN: motives, challenges and effects.......................................250 vii. Comparison with the CBD Alliance ..................................................................................253 viii. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................259