Stefan Renckens (University of Toronto) joins the GLOBE Webinar Series to discuss his new book, "Private Governance and Public Authority. Regulating Sustainability in a Global Economy" (Cambridge 2020). A short discussion and a Q&A with the audience will follow the presentation.

The GLOBE Webinar Series – The Future of Global Governance – presents the latest and most cutting-edge research in global governance and gives audience members the opportunity to directly engage with leading scholars in the field. Each webinar focuses on a significant new book that has potential to shape future thought on global governance, featuring a presentation by the author, an intervention from an expert discussant, and a Q&A session with the audience.

Participation is free and the webinar can be joined from anywhere in the world. Access the GLOBE Webinar Channel and check the featured videos for the past webinars

About the book: At a time of significant concern about the sustainability of the global economy, businesses are eager to display responsible corporate practices. While rulemaking for these practices was once the prerogative of states, businesses and civil society actors are increasingly engaged in creating private rulemaking instruments, such as eco-labeling and certification schemes, to govern corporate behavior. When does a public authority intervene in such private governance and reassert the primacy of public policy? Renckens develops a new theory of public-private regulatory interactions and argues that when and how a public authority intervenes in private governance depends on the economic benefits to domestic producers that such intervention generates and the degree of fragmentation of private governance schemes. Drawing on European Union policymaking on organic agriculture, biofuels, fisheries, and fair trade, he exposes the political-economic conflicts between private and public rule makers and the strategic nature of regulating sustainability in a global economy.

About the author: Stefan Renckens is Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department of the University of Toronto and the University of Toronto Scarborough. He is also an affiliated Faculty member of the Environmental Governance Lab in the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and a Research Fellow of the Earth System Governance project. His research interests include global environmental politics, transnational private governance, international and comparative political economy, and European Union politics.

Moderator: Kari Otteburn (KU Leuven)