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.