The Study Of The Governing Mechanisms Of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives In Global Governance

International organizations play an important coordinating and guiding role in global governance.Compared with intergovernmental organizations,international non-governmental organizations(INGOs)have stronger adaptability,flexibility and low-cost comparative advantages,so they play an increasingly important complementary role in global governance.Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives(MSIs),as one kind of special INGOs,gathers multi-stakeholders to explore solutions to transnational economic,social and environmental issues.The stakeholders involved may include multinational corporations,non-governmental organizations,governments,and intergovernmental organizations.Therefore,the key content of this paper is to study the governing mechanisms of MSIs through its governance practices in global governance.This paper argues that the governance of MSIs is a kind of networked governance that relies on the cooperation of multi-actors and the use of normative system.Based on the analysis of the logic of arguing and the logic of appropriateness,this paper puts forward three governing mechanisms of MSIs.They are relationbased governance,norm-based governance,and identity construction by relations and norms.This paper selects three representative MSIs to explore these three detailed mechanisms of MSIs through grounded theory method and process tracking method.The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative(EITI)is selected to explore the governance consensus and governance process in relations-based governance.The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil(RSPO)is selected to explore the production and supply chain certification in norm-based governance.The United Nations Global Compact(UNGC)is selected to explore the identity construction of global corporate citizenship through the UN-Business partnerships and the cognition and practices of corporate sustainability.The innovation of this paper is mainly reflected in the following aspects.Firstly,from the perspective of global governance theory,this paper analyzes the three governing mechanisms of MSIs.Secondly,three MSIs are selected to explore the detailed mechanisms of relation-based governance,norm-based governance,and identity construction by using the grounded theory method.Thirdly,this paper focuses on private sector participation in MSIs governance practices,which will help China better guide Chinese enterprises to engage in international affairs.As an innovative form of governance,MSIs for sustainable development addressed three deficits of global governance: governance deficit,participation deficit and implementation deficit through its mechanisms of relation-based governance,norm-based governance,and identity construction.