Why are non-state actors (NSAs) sometimes granted participation rights in international organisations and what influences the decision? This work presents the case that non-state actors have lobbied for formal participation roles in international organisations since at least the formation of the United Nations system but formal upstream participation roles are uncommon.

Why are non-state actors sometimes granted participation rights in international organizations? This book argues that IOs, and the states that compose them, systematically pursue their interests when granting participation rights to NSAs.

This book demonstrates that NSAs have long been participants in global governance institutions, and that states and bureaucracies have not always resisted their inclusion. At the same time, this study encourages skepticism of the assumption that increasing participation should be expected with the passage of time. The result is a study that...