Herausforderungen des internationalen Regierens - Möglichkeiten und Grenzen einer Demokratisierung internationaler Politik durch nichtsstaatliche Akteure (NGOs)

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2008 im Fachbereich Politik - Politische Theorie und Ideengeschichte, Note: 1,0, Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Veranstaltung: Neue Formen des Regierens - Verständigungsorientierung in der internationalen Politik, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The seminar paper "Challenges of international governance - Chances and limits of nongovernmental actors (NGOs) in democratizing international politics" deals with the role of NGOs in international politics. Based on the assumption that the possibilities for NGOs to influence international politics have increased since the 1990s, the paper aims at providing an overview of chances and limits of the abilities of NGOs to democratize the global system of governance. Due to the phenomenom of political globalization and the changes it brings in international politics, the transformation of national sovereignity presents new challenges for democratic participation in transnational political organizations. NGOs play an ambivalent role in possible solutions to the democratic deficit of international politics: on the one hand, they are perceived as being a guarantor of democratization in international relations; on the other hand, NGOs suffer from numerous democratic weaknesses themselves and are subject to various scientific doubts and criticisms. By giving an overview over the most prominent voices in the ongoing debate about the role of NGOs in international politics, the paper concludes with a critical stock-taking of present NGO activity and a positive outlook on the future.