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Global Governance and the Myth of Civil Society Participation

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Myth and Narrative in International Politics

Abstract

Dany and Freistein challenge the idea of civil society participation as a natural part of global governance. Pointing to the crucial role of political myths that make politics pervasive and even appealing to a broad public, the chapter shows how civil society participation has been politically legitimised. A narratological analysis of pertinent documents issued by global governance fora serves to reconstruct the mythical elements of these narrations, such as the role of protagonists and the historicity of civil society participation. The social function of these mythical narratives, Dany and Freistein argue, is to render global governance, as an inherently political project, acceptable and desirable through its constant retelling as myth.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Interview with YJ Park, former co-coordinator of the Internet Governance Caucus in the WSIS process 2003 (15 November 2007, Rio de Janeiro).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Political Science, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany

    Charlotte Dany

  2. Centre for Global Cooperation Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany

    Katja Freistein

Authors
  1. Charlotte Dany
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  2. Katja Freistein
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aberystwyth University , Aberystwyth, United Kingdom

    Berit Bliesemann de Guevara

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Dany, C., Freistein, K. (2016). Global Governance and the Myth of Civil Society Participation. In: Bliesemann de Guevara, B. (eds) Myth and Narrative in International Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-53752-2_12

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