Preface

We present here an application of a deliberative systems approach to the analysis of global climate governance. We do so not to demonstrate the versatility of that approach (though it is indeed versatile) but for the sake of better understanding and subsequently improving climate governance. It is widely recognized that the global governance of climate change has failed to deliver, and there are numerous diagnoses out there concerning what is wrong and how the world might do better. We will visit many of these along the way. But we believe we have something fresh to offer. The deliberative systems approach is grounded in thinking about democracy – hence the “democratizing” in the title of this book. Entrenched resistance to applying democratic ideas to international politics, among international relations scholars and others, is fortunately starting to crumble. This crumbling opens up all kinds of opportunities for thinking about the legitimacy and effectiveness of global governance, when it comes to climate change no less than other issues.

The kind of evaluation we undertake does, we think, provide new insight into both the failings and achievements of existing governance mechanisms, be they associated with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or emerging networked forms of climate governance, or the broader global public sphere. The fact that the failings seem to outweigh the achievements, in our analysis no less than that of others, means it is important not just to explain and evaluate what we already have, but also to think about how the world might do better. When it comes to prescription, we believe that any approach to reform just has to incorporate a deliberative aspect.