Forum Shopping in Global Governance: Understanding States, Business and NGOs in Multiple Arenas
| Author | Aynsley Kellow,Hannah Murphy |
| Date | 01 May 2013 |
| Published date | 01 May 2013 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1758-5899.2012.00195.x |
Forum Shopping in Global
Governance: Understanding States,
Business and NGOs in
Multiple Arenas
Hannah Murphy
University of Tasmania
Aynsley Kellow
University of Tasmania
Abstract
The political strategy of forum shopping is an under-researched but highly relevant concept for understanding the
dynamics of global governance. Forum shopping involves actors seeking to realise their policy objectives within
preferred policy arenas on the basis of an arena’s particular governing characteristics. We examine the forum
shopping behaviour of the key states, business and non-governmental groups in regard to three policy issues: labour
standards, intellectual property rights, and chemicals regulation. Our preliminary analysis is centred around the
questions of why actors forum shop, the circumstances in which forum shopping enables actors to succeed in
promoting their interests, and the impact of forum shopping on the effectiveness of global governance. Our cases
suggest an arena’s membership, issue mandate, decision making procedures and enforcement capacity are the key
characteristics that shape actors’ arena preferences. Another important implication is that a multi-arena global
governance system comprised of duplication and overlap in issue mandate (rather than large multilateral single issue
arenas) may be beneficial for advancing actors’ policy agendas. The overarching goal of the article is to spark more
systematic research into the often practiced but under-theorised phenomenon of forum shopping.
Policy Implications
•Global governance is achieved through action in multiple arenas, which provide different opportunities for political
action. An arena’s membership, issue mandate, decision making procedures and enforcement capacity should be
taken into account by policymakers in assessing appropriate arenas for advancing their goals.
•Entrepreneurial actors take advantage of ‘strategic inconsistencies’ in the characteristics of international policy
arenas in order to progress or block the development of proposals through incremental decisions.
•Policymakers must be alert to the likely use of forum shopping by other actors, including business actors and
NGOs, which may advance or stymie the development of policy agendas in one arena via action in alternative
arenas.
While it is often employed in the public administration
and legal studies literature, forum shopping (also known
as venue shopping) is an under-researched but highly
relevant concept for understanding the dynamics of glo-
bal governance. Forum shopping involves the strategic
selection and use of policy venues by actors in order to
advance their policy goals. Here, we employ the forum
shopping term to denote the multiple, reiterative use of
various arenas, including returning an issue to the original
arena, and thus building (or blocking) support for policy
action. At the international level of politics, arenas and
their characteristics vary widely: they are distinguished by
membership, decision making rules and procedures, the
strength of enforcement mechanisms, to name just a few.
In this article, we examine how differences in institutional
characteristics give rise to forum shopping behaviour by
not only states, but non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and business actors seeking to realise their
Global Policy Volume 4 . Issue 2 . May 2013
Global Policy (2013) 4:2 doi: 10.1111/j.1758-5899.2012.00195.x ª2013 London School of Economics and Political Science and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Research Article
139
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