The World Economic Forum: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach to Global Governance

by Pigman; Geoffrey Allen

• ISBN13: 9780415702041
• ISBN10: 0415702046
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2006-12-26
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This much-needed and highly accessible introduction to the World Economic Forum (WEF) provides the reader with a clear understanding of this key institution in world affairs. This new book explores unique aspects of the WEF and highlights contemporary issues and debates in international studies: It shows how the WEF differs from other global institutions in several key respects. Founded to promote the agreed interests of its membership, the WEF has been forced by civil society not only to revise its remit, but also to broaden participation in WEF activities. This book probes a range of key areas: * History and development * Institutional mechanisms * WEF in Contemporary Global Society * Current debates in historical perspective * Key critics and criticisms * Emerging issues and future direction With clear and concise sections, including boxes containing key ideas and arguments, the reader is able to quickly build a well-rounded understanding of this majorinstitution. A fully annotated bibliography provides ideas for future reading and research. This is an essential book for all students of international relations, politics and world affairs and history.

Author Biography

Geoffrey Allen Pigman lectures in political economy at Bennington College (Vermont, USA) and is a Visiting Fellow at the Graduate Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers University, Newark

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. viii
Foreword by the Series Editors	p. x
Acknowledgements	p. xiii
List of abbreviations	p. xiv
Introduction	p. 1
A multi-stakeholder approach: an historical overview	p. 6
Purposes public and private: how the Forum works	p. 23
The Forum in contemporary global society: theoretical questions	p. 49
Generating knowledge today: World Economic Forum meetings in 2005	p. 63
Discourse, research and action: technology and the Initiatives	p. 92
Engaging the critics	p. 123
The Forum looking ahead	p. 138
Notes	p. 153
Select bibliography	p. 165
Index	p. 167
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