The negotiation burden of institutional interactions: non state organizations and the international negotiations on forests
Abstract The participation of non state actors in international politics has been investigated since the creation of international institutions. Yet, the rules, principles and norms of global governance are no longer discussed in single isolated institutions. Rather, with the proliferation of international regimes and organizations, international issues are now negotiated in a context of institutional interactions known as 'regime complexes' This poses new questions, in particular on the negotiation burden that these new processes place on international actors. To answer this question, this contribution compares non state participation in both contexts (single regimes and regime complexes) using the international forest negotiations as a case study. It uses quantitative methods to measure the negotiation burden of single regimes and compare it with the negotiation burden of regime complexes. The negotiation burden of single regimes is found to be insignificant, political interest being the major motivation for participation, while the negotiation burden of regime complexes is found to be real, demanding a certain type of material and organizational resources in order for non state actors to participate. Yet a certain diversity of non state representation is maintained within regime complexes, non governmental organizations being dominant with respect to business groups.