Later this week in Barcelona, IBEI and ESADEGeo will host an exciting workshop on ‘Access and Exclusion in Global Governance’ that I have co-organized with Miriam Bradley (IBEI) and Angel Saz Carranza (ESADEGeo).

Global governance today involves a wide range of actors, ranging from governments to civil society organizations and multinational corporations, both in formal international organizations as well as in novel, transnational settings. The ‘opening up’ of global governance has been widely hailed for ushering in broader participation and closer links with the public sphere, while it has also drawn critique from those who fear capture by special interests the marginalization of states, governments and the public interest. However, we still know little about which actors enjoy what kind of access, and with what consequences. On the flipside, we know little about who is excluded, formally and informally, and the problems this creates. With this workshop, we seek to place access and exclusion into the centre of attention and gain greater clarity as regards the variety of questions that surround them.

We are lucky to have a great line-up of speakers from political science, international relations and international law. The workshop is supported by the Thyssen Foundation. The programme and more information is here; if you are interested in coming, please contact Carlos Sanchez at csanchez@ibei.org.