Discreet Power : How the World Economic Forum Shapes Market Agendas / Christina Garsten, Adrienne Sörbom.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Garsten, Christina, Author.

Sörbom, Adrienne, Author.

Series:

Emerging frontiers in the global economy.

Emerging Frontiers in the Global Economy

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World Economic Forum.

International economic relations.

International relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 224 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press, [2020]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In Discreet Power, Christina Garsten and Adrienne Sörbom undertake an ethnographic study of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Accessing one of the primary agenda-setting organizations of our day, they draw on interviews and participant observation to examine how the WEF wields its influence. They situate the WEF within an emerging system of "discretionary governance," in which actors craft ideas and entice formal authorities and top leaders in order to garner significant sway. Yet in spite of its image as a powerful, exclusive brain trust, the WEF has no formal mandate to implement its positions. It must convince others to advance chosen causes and enact suggestions, rendering its position quite fragile. Garsten and Sörbom argue that the WEF must be viewed relationally as a brokering organization that lives between the market and political spheres and that extends its reach through associated individuals and groups.They place the WEF in the context of a broader shift, arguing that while this type of governance opens up novel ways of dealing with urgent global problems, it challenges core democratic values.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. Disentangling Discretionary Governance

2. Liquid Mandate

3. Setting Precedence

4. Status Machinery

5. Mobilizing for the Future

6. Political Sway

Conclusion: A New Narrative for Future Globalization?

Appendix: Methodological Approach

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jul 2020)

ISBN:

9781503606050

1503606058

OCLC:

1178769152