Routledge Civil Society and Nuclear Non-Proliferation: How do States Respond? (Non-State Actors in Global Governance)

Since the end of the Cold War, globalization has brought new actors to the political arena. One of those which has attracted considerable attention in academic research is civil society or NGOs. Claudia Kissling addresses the topic of civil society participation in the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The regime qualifies well for this objective since it features, given its characteristics as a treaty regime in the international security field, notable legal avenues for civil society participation. The study takes on a twofold perspective. It addresses the empirical question of whether civil society can contribute to the evolution of regimes in the security field, especially when it comes to security cooperation. It also questions whether civil society can, under certain conditions, contribute to the democratic quality of international decision-making. Here, empirical findings are used in order to test normative political theories on the legitimacy and democracy of global institutions. Review 'By observing civil society participation in the field of international security and measuring it against a set of well-justified normative criteria, this innovative study makes a significant contribution to three literatures that rarely speak to one another. As a result, political theorists interested in avenues to global democracy, students of non-state actors in world politics and security specialists alike will find this a well-argued and thoroughly-researched book.' Peter Mayer, University of Bremen, Germany 'The book is well researched and many notable authorities are quoted to buttress arguments. The book analyzes, logically and rationally, the access afforded to CSOs, transparency in decision making, the extent to which CSOs were included in dialogues, and the responsiveness of the authorities to CSOs' recommendations...[The book] gives a fair assessment of the NPT and the other non-proliferation regimes.' USI Journal About the Author Dr Claudia Kissling is based at the University of Bremen, Germany.