International Nongovernmental Organizations: Globalization, Policy Learning, and the Nation-State

This article discusses the mechanism of "soft law" that facilitates the participation of non-state actors in policy processes traditionally and even exclusively populated by sovereign nation states. I offer a perspective on the impacts of an important set of these of these actors: international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs). By articulating aspects of INGO influence, the article serves as a conceptual map to bridge an emerging question as to whether INGOs are most appropriately placed within or without Westphalia, the traditional worldview paradigm recognizing sovereign nation-states as the primary and legitimate institutions of global policy creation, enactment, and enforcement.