Formal organizing and transnational communities: evidence from global finance governance associations, 1879-2006

In: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/36761

Abstract

The global economic, political and social landscape underwent a remarkable transformation in the latter half of the twentieth century (Giddens 1984, 1990; Hirst & Thompson 1996; Boli and Thomas, 1999; Crori et al 2003; see also Foucault 1970, 1979 on general epistemic shifts). These changes had an impact on many aspects of economic and social life. One of the most profound developments has been the proliferation of transnational organizing through formal structures. The extraordinary growth in global voluntary associations, in particular, and the timing of the emergence of these associations in the global sphere have not yet been adaquately explained by existing theories in organizational analysis and other social sciences. Therefore, an alternative theoretical approach is required to understand how and why associational forms of organization of economic and social activiry have moved into the transnational space. In this chapter we shall address these concerns by looking at the historical emergence of global finance governance organizations and note the existence of archipelagos of agencies that govern finance in different ways. These voluntary associations include legally incorporated associations that exist within local legal jurisdictions as well as loosely structured networks and movements that are disembodied entities that exist and coordinate using electronic media. Incorporated assoviations display local rootedness with implications such as legal liability of its members, the right to own property and enter contracts, and the right to open a bank account and officially lodge a complaint. Much of the earlier work on understanding global organization focused on particular factors related to technology, knowledge or expertise, and worked within the framework of existing nation-state jurisdiction. However, the heterogeneirty within this global space reveals how, through the governance mechanism of global associetions, finance has evolved into a global concern embodying particular logics and following a specific historical trajectory.