ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses global transnational competition networks (TCNs). Most global TCNs operate as part of, or under the patronage of, international organisations; although the International Competition Network (ICN) is an important exception. International organisations, by virtue of their stable structures and fixed budgets, are the natural backend for transnational networks. In the case of the ICN, the participating national competition authorities established a virtual network at the outset to avoid any problems in financing and sustaining it. The chapter shows that the fate of networks functioning under the auspices of international organisations depends on the will of those organisations. As a consequence, when competition policy is removed from the agenda of a particular organisation, the network is doomed (as in the case of the World Trade Organization). The chapter shows that each global TCN offers distinct features for cooperating agencies and has its own agenda. However, global TCNs complement rather than compete with each other. The existing plurality of global TCNs proves that there is a visible need for global cooperation among NCAs and TCNs to provide a forum for the establishment and development of such cooperation.
