A theory of global governance: authority, legitimacy, and contestation

A theory of global governance aims to provide the first systematic account of the new paradigm of global governance in International Relations. For Michael Zürn, global governance is made up of not only states, transnational institutions and citizens, but also shared norms, common global goals, different types of authority and the legitimation processes of these authorities. Zürn structures his book around various sets of problems within the current toolkit for understanding global governance. Chapters one to four lay the groundwork of Zürn's theoretical contributions, ranging from a discussion of the normative principles that underlie the global governance system in chapter one, to his novel theory of global governance in chapter four. Chapters five to eight elaborate on the empirical aspects and applications of his theory. The remaining two chapters offer a discussion about the future of global governance. What Zürn presents here is innovative in many ways. In contrast to...