ABSTRACT
This chapter describes problematise this positive normative perspectivism, exploring non government organisation (NGO) activity in relation to standardisation, a domain where civil society actors have had a long and illustrious role but where this role does not necessarily match the view of NGOs as inclusive moral actors. It presents an arguement that follows three lines of analysis: the ideal-type functions NGOs can play in alternative models of standardisation, the historical participation civil society actors and NGOs have had in diverse standardisation initiatives and fields, and the increasingly blurriness of the NGO-private boundary associated with this participation. The chapter provides a conceptual typology to guide the more empirical narrative developed in examining the modern emergence of international standardisation initiatives and exploring how the role of NGO actors conflates with the multi-sectoral and exclusive character of epistemic communities.
