The world’s citizens get involved in global policymaking: global resistance, global public participation, and global democracy

Abstract

The central question of this contribution is how international policymakers – mostly States - ought to respond to global protests. There are essentially three ways for them to respond. First, they can refuse these critical world’s citizens the possibility to take part in authoritative policymaking at the global level and essentially leave this to State representatives. The second option is to embrace and welcome the participation of the ordinary citizens in global policymaking. The policymakers might institutionalize the citizens’ involvement, and make their participation an additional element in the process of authoritative policymaking at the global level. The third option is to go even further and replace the inter-State policymaking with a kind of global democracy: a system of representative democracy at the global level. All three scenarios will be explored, with a focus on the second.