After two generations of emphasis on governmental inefficiency and the need for deregulation, we now see growing interest in the possibility of constructive governance, alongside public calls for new, smarter regulation. Yet there is a real danger that regulatory reforms will be rooted in outdated ideas. As the financial crisis has shown, neither traditional market failure models nor public choice theory, by themselves, sufficiently inform or explain our current regulatory challenges. Regulatory studies, long neglected in an atmosphere focused on deregulatory work, is in critical need of new models and theories that can guide effective policy-making. This interdisciplinary volume points the way toward the modernization of regulatory theory. Its essays by leading scholars move past predominant approaches, integrating the latest research about the interplay between human behavior, societal needs, and regulatory institutions. The book concludes by setting out a potential research agenda for the social sciences.

For more than a century Western democracies have struggled to keep faith with both economic efficiency and social justice. Yet reconciliation of these factors remains as baffling as ever. Among the many voices clamoring today for a theory of collective action, we hear most often of the great chasm between ?legitimacy? and ?efficiency?. It is the contention of the authors of this ground-breaking book that these antinomies can be seen as distinct ?moments of application? in the operation of normative judgement, and that a reflexive treatment of norms of collective action, by clarifying limitations in rules and beliefs, allows us to develop mechanisms to correct the limiting effects of such judgements and act accordingly. Drawing on and developing recent trends in the social sciences, The Action of Norms presents a powerful new theory of governance with far-reaching implications for the future of law, the judiciary, and justice itself. Among the contributing modern ideas that are explained and developed as pillars of the authors? thesis are the following: critiques of the ?political theory of interest groups?; the economic theory of efficiency; deliberative democracy; rational choice theory; the evolutionist debate; learning process theory; and the theory of risk. Lenoble and Maesschalck achieve a remarkable synthesis of relevant thought about forms of social organization?from Kant and Fichte through Hayek, Rawls, and Habermas to current theory?and place it at the service of a new and effective theory of the norm that promises to greatly elucidate the role of law and legal practice in the continuing development of democratic institutions.

After two generations of emphasis on governmental inefficiency and the need for deregulation, we now see growing interest in the possibility of constructive governance, alongside public calls for new, smarter regulation. Yet there is a real danger that regulatory reforms will be rooted in outdated ideas. As the financial crisis has shown, neither traditional market failure models nor public choice theory, by themselves, sufficiently inform or explain our current regulatory challenges. Regulatory studies, long neglected in an atmosphere focused on deregulatory work, is in critical need of new models and theories that can guide effective policy-making. This interdisciplinary volume points the way toward the modernization of regulatory theory. Its essays by leading scholars move past predominant approaches, integrating the latest research about the interplay between human behavior, societal needs and regulatory institutions. The book concludes by setting out a potential research agenda for the social sciences.

This book outlines the importance of political institutions in achieving good governance within a democratic polity.

This book offers a major new theory of global governance, explaining both its rise and what many see as its current crisis. The author suggests that world politics is now embedded in a normative and institutional structure dominated by hierarchies and power inequalities and therefore inherently creates contestation, resistance, and distributional struggles. Within an ambitious and systematic new conceptual framework, the theory makes four key contributions. Firstly, it reconstructs global governance as a political system which builds on normative principles and reflexive authorities. Second, it identifies the central legitimation problems of the global governance system with a constitutionalist setting in mind. Third, it explains the rise of state and societal contestation by identifying key endogenous dynamics and probing the causal mechanisms that produced them. Finally, it identifies the conditions under which struggles in the global governance system lead to decline or deepening. Rich with propositions, insights, and evidence, the book promises to be the most important and comprehensive theoretical argument about world politics of the 21st century.

As the debate over global governance heats up, Approaches to Global Governance Theory offers a guide to this new terrain. The contributors advocate approaches to global governance that recognize fundamental political, economic, technological, and cultural dynamics, that engage social and political theory, and that go beyond conventional international relations theory. We are offered here a guide to this new terrain. Beginning with a chapter tracing the emergence of global governance analysis in the 1990s, Approaches to Global Governance Theory also responds to alternative theoretical conceptions. James N. Rosenau explores the ontology of global governance. In addition, Robert Latham develops a critique of Rosenau's thinking, while Michael G. Schechter examines the limits of the Commission for Global Governance's widely-publicized 1995 report and Ronen Palan asks critically, "Who is to be governed by global governance?" Other chapters develop analyses of global governance phenomena. Technological change is addressed by Karen T. Litfin, on environmental satellites, and Edward A. Comor, on broadcast satellites. M. Mark Amen examines developments in credit, and shifts in political identity are mapped by Yale H. Ferguson and Richard W. Mansbach. Also, developments in information and knowledge are considered by Tony Porter. In addition, chapters advocate new directions for global governance analysis. Timothy Sinclair suggests a focus on the level of the commonplace, Martin Hewson proposes long-term analysis of world order informationalism, and Ronnie D. Lipschutz makes a case for the importance of global civil society.

I3E 2001 is the first in a series of conferences on e-commerce, e-business, and- government organised by the three IFIP committees TC6, TC8, and TC11. It provides a forum, where users, engineers, and scientists from academia, industry, and government can present their latest findings in e-commerce, e-business, and- government applications and the underlying technology to support those applications. The conference comprises a main track and mini tracks dedicated to special topics. The papers presented in the main track were rigorously refereed and selected by the International Programme Committee of the conference. Thematically they were grouped in the following sessions: – Sessions on security and trust, comprising nine papers referring to both trust and security in general as well as presenting specific concepts for enhancing trust in the digital society. – Session on inter-organisational transactions, covering papers related to auditing of inter-organizational trade procedures, cross-organizational workflow and transactions in Business to Business platforms. – Session on virtual enterprises, encompassing papers describing innovative approaches for creating virtual enterprises as well as describing examples of virtual enterprises in specific industries. – Session on online communities containing three papers, which provide case studies of specific online communities and various concepts on how companies can build and harness the potential of online communities. – Sessions on strategies and business models with papers describing specific business models as well as general overviews of specific approaches for E- Strategy formulation.