ABSTRACT

This chapter argues that global public policy networks are one promising answer to the growing organizational vacuum at the global level. In these trisectoral networks, states, international organizations, civil society actors and the private sector are collaborating to achieve what none of the single actors is able to achieve on its own. The chapter analyses the context in which global public policy networks have developed; building on existing knowledge about networks from sociology and policy analysis as well as management theories. It presents some key insights for the structure and processes of trisectoral networks. The chapter points to several different functions that networks perform. It discusses some important network management issues that improve our understanding of how these networks run, what they promise, and their limitations. The chapter explores the role of multilateral institutions and to a limited extent that of governments in such networks.