1. Masters of Studies in Diplomatic Studies
Roles of Non-State Actors in the Global
Convergence
Dissertation Submitted for the Master of Studies in
Diplomatic Studies
University of Oxford
By
Candidate number 591960
Kellogg College
Hilary Term 2015
Word Count: 15, 287

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ABSTRACT
Dissertation Title: Roles of Non-State Actors in the Global Convergence
Candidate No.: 591960
Degree: Masters of Studies in Diplomatic Studies
Submission: Hillary Term 2015
This dissertation explores the relationship between non-state actors (NSAs) and
the global convergence. NSAs originate primarily from the business sector and
the people sector, whereas the global convergence is understood as the coming
together of the world politically, economically and culturally. This dissertation
aims to provide the reader with an insight into how NSAs, despite being relatively
new players, can play a positive role on the world stage, which is converging due
to globalisation. Two case studies, on the United Nations Climate Change
negotiations and the Association of South-East Asian Nations, are selected to
cover differing circumstances – “top down-bottom up” and “East-West” – to find
out how NSAs have been functioning in these contexts. The key finding is that
NSAs are complementing, instead of replacing, governments in the global
convergence due to the different nature of their existence and that they will
continue to fulfil that interstitial space. They have been aiding the convergence
process through trust building in the political space, asset management in the
economic space and facilitation of global ownership in the cultural space; while
using innovation, information and connectivity as catalysts.

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CONTENT PAGE
ABSTRACT
...............................................................................................................
4
CONTENT
PAGE
.......................................................................................................
5
INTRODUCTION
......................................................................................................
7
Objective.............................................................................................................. 10
Road Map ............................................................................................................ 11
LITERATURE
REVIEW
.............................................................................................
12
The Global Convergence..................................................................................... 12
Political Convergence ...................................................................................... 13
Economic Convergence................................................................................... 16
Cultural Convergence ...................................................................................... 21
Non-State Actors and their roles ......................................................................... 26
CASE
STUDIES
.......................................................................................................
32
Case Study 1: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
and the Kyoto Protocol ........................................................................................ 32
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 32
Process ............................................................................................................ 33
The Kyoto Protocol .......................................................................................... 33
Recent Developments...................................................................................... 34
Non-State Actors in the Climate Negotiations.................................................. 35
Non-State Actors in the Political Convergence ................................................ 36
Non-State Actors in the Economic Convergence............................................. 41
Non-State Actors in the Cultural Convergence ................................................ 46

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Case Study 2: Association of South-East Asian Nations as part of South-east
Asia’s Integration Efforts...................................................................................... 50
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 50
Recent Developments...................................................................................... 51
Non-State Actors in ASEAN............................................................................. 52
Non-State Actors in Political Convergence ...................................................... 55
Non-State Actors in Economic Convergence................................................... 56
Non-State Actors in Cultural Convergence ...................................................... 57
DISCUSSION
..........................................................................................................
60
Trust Building in Political Convergence ............................................................... 60
Asset Management in Economic Convergence................................................... 62
Common Ownership in Cultural Convergence .................................................... 63
Innovation, Information and Connectivity as Catalysts........................................ 64
Varying Circumstances........................................................................................ 65
Caveats and Considerations of Dissertation ....................................................... 66
CONCLUSION
........................................................................................................
68
REFERENCES
AND
BIBLIOGRAPHY
.........................................................................
69

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INTRODUCTION
The concept of global convergence has predominately been theorised within the
economic space, where the focus has traditionally been on the narrowing income
gap between the global rich and the global poor. However, this phenomenon
exists in other domains as well, such as cultural influences and political ideals.
Early evidence of such confluences can be dated back as early as when different
communities and civilisations come into contact with one another in an attempt to
integrate their own interests to build empires. Examples include the formation of
the Chinese Dynasty, the medieval Respublica Christiana and even the ancient
Roman Empire (Keen, 1991). These events, held before the 1648 Treaty of
Westphalia, often occurred at the expense of unavoidable bloodshed.
The advancement of connectivity technologies, coupled with its low costs, has
increased the intensity of globalisation in modern times, and accelerated the
convergence at an unprecedented rate. In the post-Westphalia era, the world
stage, consisting of states as primary actors, has significantly lowered the
interests and increased the barriers of waging war among nations for the same
phenomenon, thus avoiding unnecessary carnage of pre-modern times.
However, the concepts of statehood and sovereignty also pose limitations in
responses to the increasingly transnational nature of the challenges that we face
now. Therefore, as an emerging new player on the world stage, non-state actors
(NSAs) exist to fulfil the ineludible gaps presented in the respective domains of
the global convergence.

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This dissertation uses a framework whereby the global convergence refers to
three main closely linked areas: political convergence, between national and
international policies; economic convergence, between haves and the have-nots;
and cultural convergence, between the values of the East and West. The NSAs
are divided into two sectors: the private sector, made up representatives from
businesses and industries, ranging from small-medium enterprises (SMEs) to
Multinational Corporations (MNCs); and the people sector, made up by
representatives of like-minded individuals and community groups that identify
themselves in a range of terms such as movements, non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs), and non-profit
organisations (NPOs).
In the political domain, Professor Kishore Mahbubani (2014) provided an analogy
that likens the world to a boat with 193 cabins and 193 captains elected by their
respective crew. Despite growing global economic convergence, there is hitherto
no similarly rapid convergence in the political arena to tackle transnational issues,
such as providing public goods, services and addressing transboundary
problems. This means that policies will be increasingly similar as it is shaped by
global agendas, negotiated at international platforms that will require a non-
invasive dynamics between countries. Therefore, states will need to learn how to
strike a balance between national and international interests, and be relieved of
the fear of losing out to one another.
In the economic domain, while there is an increased recognition of a global
economy and the corresponding increase in interdependency, richer and poorer

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nations are facing their own set of challenges in closing up their internal wealth
gaps. More often than not, policymakers implement policies that benefit their
state alone, neglecting the potential wider externalities of their policies. This is
because they are often bound by the desires of their electorates. However,
countries and their policymakers will have to start rethinking about these
externalities when they make national fiscal policy decisions, for instance. The
way to bridge this is changing regulations to allow better capital flow,
technological transfers and capacity building between developed and developing
countries.
In the cultural domain, converging ideas and believes can be argued to have
begun as soon as two groups of entity come together to interact. Ideas are
shared and influence how people think and live. In the modern normative, since
the invention of media vehicles such as newspapers, radios, televisions, and the
Internet, they have enabled such interactions and sharing of information in a
globalised manner. The struggle here is the ability for groups, communities and
especially states to retain their sense of unique individuality, while embracing the
unavoidably pluralistic space of differing interests but shared resources. This part
of the global convergence can be argued the most important but at the same time
complex as it has the ability to influence the other two parts with the
advancement of technology, which shifts the power from states to the masses
(Keohane & Nye, 1987).
Since Westphalia, power and authority in international relations were considered
to have rested with states. But with the shift of power induced by the Information

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age (Castell, 2011), the status quo has come under much empirical and
theoretical scrutiny. Nonetheless, this does not mean that states will eventually
be replaced; they could continue to play their roles albeit in a more crowded
global stage with the proliferation of non-state Actors (NSAs). NSAs, on the other
hand, have been performing seemingly random, fragmented and isolated
functions – such as providing an alternative voice for the people, addressing the
asymmetrical information between states, providing ground-up solutions and
even setting global agenda – in addressing the transnational challenges of the
modern converging world. However, through the case studies, this dissertation
argues that these functions have an underlying vector towards closing the
inexorable diminishing gaps of the political, economic and cultural convergences:
facilitating trust building, enabling better assets management and enabling
ownership of global citizenry respectively. Therefore, this dissertation argues that
it is crucial for states and NSAs to work together to smoothen the global
convergence process.
Objective
This dissertation aims to study the unique role that NSAs fulfil in the context of
the global convergence. Focusing on climate negotiations and the Association of
South-East Asian Nations as case studies, the roles of these NSAs in the
process will be identified. The analysis will be based on political, economic and
cultural considerations.

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This dissertation argues that the existence of NSAs does not replace the function
of states, but is necessary to ensure the political, economic and cultural
convergences. Two case studies will be used to highlight the supportive roles of
NSAs within the global convergence.
This study is significant because it will enable diplomats to be clearer about the
roles that NSAs play without feeling either threatened by their existence, nor
compelled to suppress their efforts. It will enable policymakers to instead be more
inclined to engage these new actors of the global stage in a more structured
manner, leading towards more constructive diplomacy outcomes.
Road
Map
This dissertation proceeds as follows: the next chapter reviews existing scholarly
work, providing an understanding to readers about the global convergence and
the functions of NSAs. The third chapter includes two case studies that cover the
different aspects of convergence when placed in different set of circumstances.
The following chapter provides an in-depth discussion of key findings on the roles
of NSAs. Finally, this dissertation concludes by outlining areas of further study.

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LITERATURE REVIEW
The Global Convergence
Today, there is an unambiguous positive correlation between globalisation and
convergence (Williamson, 1996). What is meant by globalisation? It is something
whose presence can be both seen and felt everywhere; in the Modern normative,
it can be said to be a phenomenon of interdependency, which is being further
catalysed through a higher density of readily-available connectivity. It should be
understood as an interactive and integrative process, instead of an end state, of
people, companies, governments and people, driven predominately by
international trade and investment (Stoudmann, 2006). Technically, it is nothing
new (Keohane & Nye, 2000) and can be dated back to the times where the Silk
Road connected Europe and Asia in the Pre-Modern normative. The main
difference between then and now is the intensity of integration, thanks to the
advent of connectivity technologies (Held et al., 1999). Globalisation can be
argued to have become a threat to the Westphalian system, given that the latter
was a framework of governance with the principles of statehood and sovereignty
at its core (Goksel, 2012).
Scholars have been studying convergence even before the recent wave of
globalisation (Eyestone, 1977). The convergence theory has its roots in the
functionalist perspective, which assumes that societies have certain requirements
that must be met if they are to survive and operate effectively. It states that as
societies become increasingly industrialized, they begin to resemble other

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industrialized societies. That is, they converge towards other forms of social
organisation. The convergence theory argues that the world is increasingly
becoming more alike generally in three domains: politically, economically and
culturally. Political convergence pivots discussions around how national policies
across states will increasingly become more similar to each other, and expects
that there will be a set of universal regulation of sort, leading to a global
governance system (Drezner, 2001). Economic convergence looks primarily at
the disparity between developing and developed nations. Finally, cultural
convergence looks at how values and aspirations (Werther, 1996) are becoming
increasingly similar.
Essentially, one can view globalisation as one large complex mechanism that
facilitates political, economic and cultural exchanges. In the past two decades, it
has exponentially increased in its intensity due to the evolution of connectivity
technologies. Given this backdrop, convergence is happening faster than before
and states will need to deal with it. The changing normative is also forcing states
to relearn how they should function and deal with various dilemmas surfacing in
world politics. Hence, there is an increasing need to learn how to manage
international and national interests, especially among states.
Political Convergence
Political convergence can be further broken into two types. First, it is manifested
by different states formulating increasingly similar policies. Second, it appears
that there have been changes to the overall world system, which some have

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termed the new world order. The two are intrinsically linked but can be taken
apart to be analysed separately.
Looking at national policies alone, there is an implicit assumption that they are
growing alike in terms of their structure, process and performance due to
globalisation (Kerr, 1983), which brought about more capital fluidity and mobility
(Sassen, 1998). In a mercantilist system, state policy is increasingly being
influenced by capital flow mobility. This means that the autonomy and power to
make decisions are increasingly eroded away from states with vested interest to
control their own economies (Drezner, 2001), causing anxieties to people from
the bottom all the way to the top. The underlying concern is the “race to the
Bottom” hypothesis (Kahler, 1998). It is believed that states are increasingly
inclined to implement policies that will benefit the business sector through the
reduction of trade barriers for fear of capital outflow. Companies, especially
international ones, will move their investments to states with governmental
policies that profit them most. This extends to the possibility that that states would
overlook the welfare of their people and environmental protection, among many
other priorities, to please the private sector. The argument against this hypothesis
is that it does not take into consideration other factors that states will look into
when making policies, such as citizen voting (Swire, 1996).
On the other hand, it is plausible that regulations become more stringent and are
primarily driven by voices of the people through epistemic communities (Alder
and Haas, 1992; Cross, 2013) and egalitarian political movements (Weiss et al.,
1977), to which states tend to listen when formulating national policies. Apart

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from bottom-up voices, states do have other considerations to take into account,
and these can be looked at as “peer pressure” of other states at international
negotiations, including that of nuclear disarmament and human rights On such
international platforms, states like to project themselves as being “cooperative”,
and therefore will be more inclined to fit into that mould which often comes with
needing to implement more regulations.
Therefore, there is a struggle between policies that make regulations less vs
more stringent. This struggle between the two sides will happen more in the
future as states try to find which best fits their interest. On one hand, there are
increasing numbers of economic policies that reduce barriers to trade, with the
establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as an international
platform that further aids the push for such deregulations. Yet there are also
increasing numbers of policies that states have agreed upon to better regulate
labour conditions, environmental protection and consumer interest. These
regulations are also further propelled forward at international negotiation
platforms such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). The overarching concern is not just which of the two motivations is
more important, rather, it is how to balance national interests with international
interests (Rajput, 2013).
The overall system is commonly referred to as “Global Governance” by many
scholars since the early 1950s. Here, the convergence is looking at how the end
game or new world order will be like in terms on the function of states and their
interaction with one another (Finkelstein, 1995). But in order to see an end game,

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two questions must be answered: whose interest will it serve? And how will the
structure look like?
Instead of looking at global governance as the overall system that governs
everything in the world like how the European Union (EU) is like for Europe, we
can look at it more as a phenomenon. Global governance aims to address issues
where states alone cannot solve, such as environmental degradation, resource
scarcity, terrorism or any problems that are trans-boundary by nature. This is
because there should be enough common interest, both collectively and
individually, to bring countries together and work towards a solution. However,
because the current global governance architecture is one of fragmentation
(Biermann et al., 2009), there may be times where the individual interests
outweigh the collective and lead to its failure. Fragmentation is bound to exist in
any form of global governance structures; the only difference is their intensity.
The structure, process and mechanism of how the world system works will have
a direct impact on the legitimacy of any international treaties that come out of it,
and eventually affecting how national policies will be formulated (Koenig-
Archibugi & Zürn, 2006).
Economic Convergence
In the economic domain, an unanswered key question is why some countries still
live in extreme poverty despite unprecedented global economic growth. It is
important to note that overall global economic growth is different from economic

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convergence. Economic growth looks at the growth of the global economy as a
whole. On the other hand, economic convergence is essentially about the catch-
up effect between states; specifically, whether the income gap between the rich
and the poor is increasing or decreasing. This can be understood as the sigma-
convergence (Williamson, 1996). There are growth theories on how the
convergence is going to happen, also known as beta-convergence (Sala-i-Martin,
1996), which essentially looks at how growth of economies between developed
and developing nations is closing up.
Ongoing debates over the past couple of decades centre on whether there is
(beta) convergence. The majority consensus is that the income gap is closing,
provided that certain conditions must first be met. This is also known as
conditional beta-convergence. First, countries will have to be in an open economy
allowing free trade to happen (Sachs et al., 1995). Second, there must be
adequate backwardness and capital potential in developing countries
(Gerschenkron, 1962). Third, developed countries have to experience diminishing
returns (Solow, 1956). As the world system changes to be more open and almost
all major developing countries of the world have satisfied the earlier conditions,
there is a shift towards an unconditional (beta) convergence, or absolute
convergence (Korotayev et al., 2011).
States need to leverage on globalisation and the changing normative to maximize
their benefits to create an eventual economic convergence of equal wealth for
every human being on the planet. While it is very utopian to expect this, it is
something that all states will have to aspire towards in the face of the irreversible

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and increasing intensity of globalisation. It is important to understand who gains
and who loses in order to have appropriate policy responses. The egalitarian
predictions of the simplest neoclassical models of trade and growth are well
known and easy to explain, as they follow from entirely standard assumptions on
technology alone and fail to recognise other factors that exist which will hinder
the flow of capital from the rich to the poor, also known as the Lucas Paradox
(Lucas, 1990).
Apart from technology, the other reasons as to why there has been evidence of
failure in capital flow from the rich to the poor can generally be divided into two
categories; namely those that are “fundamentals” and ones that are deemed
under the frame of “International Marketing Imperfection” (Alfaro et al., 2008)
“Fundamentals” refer to three reasons that affect countries fundamentally. First is
the issue of human capital. It is important to note that this is not constant and
there are differences in labour quality or human capital across countries. The
second is governmental policies. This refers to the policies implemented by
governments to regulate the flow of capital such as taxes and incentives. Finally,
the institutional structure available in the country helps governs its state and its
various interactions within.
“International Marketing Imperfection” highlights the flaws of the current free
market system and how these hinder the flow of capital. This can perhaps be
viewed upon as external factors. First, it is Asymmetric Information. It highlights
the notion that there is unfair access to information of states before any deals are

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agreed upon or struck. This often leads to action that are less than ideal,
sometimes immoral, in order to gain advantage over the other. Second, is the
Sovereign Risk involved. This is where the uncertainty and even possibility of
countries have a defaulting on their commitments.
States play a huge role in economic convergence by enacting regulations and
policies for the betterment of their people. It has been suggested that
governments should prioritise the implementation of policies aimed at
strengthening the protection of property rights, reducing corruption, and
increasing government stability, bureaucratic quality, and improving law and
order if they seek to increase capital in-flows to poor countries.
The previous United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, initiated the
Millennium Development Goals (MDG) at the turn of the millennium, with its
number one priority of eradicating extreme poverty. And as we draw nearer to the
due date in 2015, recent reports by the UN have shown evidence that the world
has come together to help reduce extreme poverty by half, amounting to about
700 million people (United Nations, 2014). These reports also showed that the
number of undernourished people has declined, and that more children across
the world are gaining access to basic primary school education. These efforts are
not only evidence that there is overall economic growth, but suggest that income
gap among nations is closing, especially after 1990 (Molina and Purser, 2010).
This is also a sign of political will by states to make the world a better place for
all. But these states’ efforts, at both national and international levels, to further
bridge the wealth gap are not without their own challenges.

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Economic progress is something that states will always need to look into when
implementing policies. Apart from the aforementioned factors, the other challenge
is that states no longer truly possess economic sovereignty. Sovereignty is not an
economic notion as it is sometimes made out to be. The expression “economic
sovereignty” is a conflation of two different concepts that are best kept separate.
A better term might be “economic autonomy”. Economic autonomy is the notion
that a country’s economy is insulated from foreign economic influence,
involvement, or control. This may or may not be desirable in any particular case.
Rather than speak of the decline or loss of “economic sovereignty” it would be
more to the point to speak of the difficulties that independent governments face in
trying to pursue nationalistic economic policies, especially in our era of
globalisation (Quiggin, 2001). Take for example the case of Canada and the
United States. The former has the sovereign authority to issue and manage its
own currency, while the latter does not have the authority to do that in Canada.
However, for Canada (and presumably for all states in similar circumstances of
economic interdependence), that right is a bit hollow. The Canadian government
does not have much room for manoeuvre, because although monetary policy is
set in Canada, the value of the Canadian dollar is heavily dependent on
American monetary policy and on international currency markets. Hence although
Canada has the right to its own currency, it has limited power or capacity to
determine the value of that currency. Like almost all countries connected to the
global network, Canada is a sovereign state but does not possess full economic
autonomy.

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Cultural Convergence
Cultural convergence in this dissertation refers to societal evolution and social
dynamics of people in the face of globalisation. On top of that, it is also looking at
how different views of the pluralistic world seem to be coming together
(Tomlinson, 1999). Of the three forms of convergence, this is perhaps the most
complex to understand, given the wide spectrum of humanism. It is essentially
trying to address the ideas, customs and social behaviour of a society. The
media, both traditional mainstream channels and the newer social media ones,
and connectivity technologies can be looked upon as catalysts that help the
spread of information and cultures across the world. Thus, the outcome is one
that will shape the way people think and live (Grewal, 2008). While there are
proponents that note the coming together of culture, there are others who believe
the world is on a divergent path. The key contests or discussions of the cultural
convergence largely revolve around two areas; first, between the east and the
west (Yamazaki, 1996); and second, between local and global. By recognising
cultural convergence, or a lack thereof, it will enable states to respond aptly with
necessary policies and measures to either address concerns or leverage trends
that will be to their advantage. This is increasingly important in a flattening world
(Friedman, 2006). It is a space where states should, or have already been,
harnessing benefits from through the use of soft power (Nye, 2004).
First, discussions around “East” and “West” can be said to begin in the West
(Robison, 1996). There, it can be divided into two phases, starting with the
European and subsequently the Americans. The earlier phase grew from

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exploration of resources to feed growing empires. This can be thought as the
beginning of colonialism. While there are several historical accounts of violence
and slavery during this process, the Europeans did promote the spread of their
culture to the allegedly backward societies (Hobsbawm, 1989). Its imperialism
lasted about over 300 years. The region’s gradual demise happened during the
two World Wars, which had significant negative impact on the European powers
and deflated its ability to continue reigning over its foreign territories. Then came
the time of the Americans, especially so after the Second World War which
secured its position as the superpower of the world. It began a time of U.S.
hegemony, especially so regarding its cultures and way of life for the rest of the
world. Among the many ways to describe it, the ones that are commonly used are
“Americanization” (Moffett, 1907) or “McDonaldization” (George Ritzer, 1983).
This is present in various areas such as fashion trends, family values, business
marketing, and even political ideals. Because of the success it had during the
Second World War, and the graceful decline of Europe, the United States
became the beacon that everyone not only look up to, but also work towards in
the hope to achieve the same “American Dream”, that is to become better, richer
and more liberal (Adams, 1931).
However, this dominance of western influence began to wane with the rise of
Asia powers, which is clearly in tandem with its growing economy (Mahbubani,
2014) in a postcolonial era, particularly ones in the East. This first began with the
growth of the four Asian tiger economies, sometimes referred to as “The Asian
Miracle” in the 1960s (Nelson & Pack, 1999), and the rest of Asia, especially
India and China (Meredith, 2008). Apart from bringing economic prosperity, these

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countries influenced the world with their cultural methods and way of life. Despite
the critics that some of China’s values led to its failure to compete with the
western powers earlier in the 20th
century (Lin, 2011), Confucianism was
subsequently attributed to have a significant influence to the region and used as
the basis to explain the success of the Asian tigers and China. The first Prime
Minister of Singapore has also actively advocated Asian values as an alternative
to western culture in Asia (DuBois, 2011).
One could generalise that the West brings with it the rational, scientific, logical
school of thoughts, outer-world dependent, individually focused, success or
achievement driven, always challenging fundamentals of the status quo and
ethically principled just to name a few (Russell, 1967). Whereas the East brings
the idea of cosmological unity, circular view of the universe, cyclic development,
inner-world dependent, collectivism, spirituality, virtue driven, less inclined to
introduce radical changes and winning inside one’s self (Osborne and Van Loon,
2000). While both seem very diverging, they stemmed from the same eventual
outcome in mind that is people can have a better and richer life. Through the
catalysts such as the belief systems of the two general cultures, they have begun
to influence each other. Despite the stark difference in nature between the two,
instead of leaning towards either, there are evidences to suggest a third path,
which is the integration of the two. This is often first reflected in activities that
people and even art pieces produced in this time.
Second, on the argument between local and global, and in some literature it is
brought up as nationalism against globalism or internationalism (Pieterse, 2009).

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Here, we will look into two aspects of the local-global discussions. The first one
lies in terms of the ideals and the second is in terms of physical resources.
With regards to the local-global ideas, it is argued that the Western world heavily
influenced the global ideas that currently are in existence. One of the key reasons
that this is the case is because they did dominate the global stage first, and can
be attributed to be the primary architect that laid the foundation for a globalised
world. However, this is increasingly changing as the Eastern values are seen to
be influencing the West, perhaps due to sheer statistics since it does have a
much larger population (Christiansen & Hedetoft, 2004). Apart from dominated by
the East-West culture dilemma, the key discussion revolves around that of
businesses and trade such as fashion, manufacturing and even food. Because of
the competitive advantage economy environment we have created, we have
access to many international products right to our doorsteps. We recognise some
of these brands by supporting them through our dollars on the basis that we
assume where they are from determines the quality of their outputs. There may
be some truth when it comes to more exquisite and precise equipment, but for
the rest, it always comes from makes the most profitable sense to businesses.
Proponents for more protectionism argued that because of choices to shop on an
international market place, we encourage the private sector to externalise their
true costs (Ruggie, 1994). Apart from that, another compelling reasons for the
growing support of people to purchase more local and regional products, is the
interest to encourage creativity and talents from their very own backyard. This
could also be seen as the community or group implicitly wanting to share their
own culture to the outside world through such avenues (Otmazgin, 2005).

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With regard to the local-global distribution of physical resources, the genesis of
the argument began about thirty years ago over an economic-centred article on
“The Tragedy of the Commons” (Hardin, 1968). It is essentially speaking of the
limited resources that the planet has, and the taken-for-granted common public
facilities that we use. The discussion began in view of anticipating further human
population growth by William Forster Lloyd (1833) and the concerns that may
arise pertaining to the consuming nature of human. It argues that humans are
inclined to be self-serving by nature and when there is a common space or
shared resources, everyone will do their best to maximise what they can get out
of it instead of dutifully respecting other uses of it. Harbin discussed further that
this is a problem that cannot be solved by technology, but rather, a deeper
change is needed in terms of human values or ideas of morality. Although his
work was met with various criticisms (Ostrom et all, 1999), it sparked a series of
discussion on what it means to be able to grow sustainability on this planet as a
global village. The dilemmas of the commons continue in modern times for a
variety of resource problems in today’s society such as water, forestry, fishery,
and energy (Kopelman et al., 2002).

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Non-State Actors and their roles
Building on the principles of the 1648 Westphalia Agreement, and learning from
the two World Wars that ended with the long-standing Cold War, the traditional
form of danger between states – in terms of waging war for resources – is almost
non-existent. In this normative, large numbers of states may have given up the
impulse to invade one another, but belligerent states still exist in various parts of
the world, requiring on-going state diplomacy. Intensifying globalisation has
radically altered the world stage, especially the nature of nation-states actors,
and their modes of relating to each other (Giddens, 2002). States, bounded by
the principles of non-interference and sovereignty, have begun to face challenges
in dealing with the new world’s problems. With globalisation, problems now
transcend national boundaries – from the environment to terrorism to financial
risk – and require the participation of NSAs. The information revolution has
rendered a whole host of NSAs capable of undertaking collective action and thus
undermining the power of states (Mathews, 2000).
A key characteristic of NSAs is that they comprise a diverse group of individuals,
groups, communities and organisations. They can be seen as being collective
ground-up movements that represent different voices and interests. Hence, they
do not have a leader for the whole movement, much less a constituency to
officially report to (Dany, 2013). In this respect, NSAs can be said to lack
legitimacy and accountability to some extent. The same argument made by
opponents for a larger world stage to believe that NSAs’ role should be
downplayed, and even be restricted in any decision-making processes. However,

27. 27
the truth of the matter is that they already have this power and influence, be it
outside or within the processes that states have created (Arts, 2003). Their
importance will also continue to grow in the face of the increased
interdependency of states and its people. The increased connectivity and wider
world view has given birth to the idea that apart from states, people have also
begun to identify themselves beyond their nationality, but also as part of a larger
community of like-minded individuals in the global space. This requires the
recognition of “Global Citizenship”. More individuals are increasingly becoming
aware and are able to draw the link between their actions and the impact they
have on the world, and vice versa. With technological improvements offering
greater connectivity, accessibility and capacity, this number will only continue to
grow.
The existence of NSAs can also be looked upon as a shift of power and authority
away from states. This does not mean that the role of states have diminished to
mere provider of infrastructure and public goods required by businesses
(Strange, 1999; Ohmae, 1990). Instead, what needs to be recognised is that their
role is changing, perhaps even deepening in some areas (Mathews, 1997), such
as ensuring security, on a global stage that now has other actors as well.
Despite the diversity of interests and causes, NSAs can principally be divided into
two types (Higgot et al., 2000). The first type comprises the private sector, or
corporations. These include multi-national companies (MNCs), trans-national
companies (TNCs) and even collective small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
This group of NSAs came about with the increased economic interdependency

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that has been created over the years since the beginning of the Modern
normative. This group is always looking at ways to work with governments to
bring about win-win situations for economic growth. This can be seen through the
increased amount of Public-Private Partnerships established since the early
1990s (Rosenau, 2000). They represent the interests of the private sector and
can be seen to have great influence in the governing of the global economy.
The second type comprises the people sector. It is made up of non-governmental
organisations (NGOs), both local and international, as well as communities of
like-minded individuals. First coined in a 1945 UN document, the term NGO was
borne out of the need to identify the different participating stakeholders and
allocating their respective rights (Alger, 2002). Since the term is vaguely defined
due to several contesting views, it is more important to look at the roles that they
play. They can be found functioning to influence both bottom-up initiatives and
top-down policies. On the ground, they are often involved in development work
and sometimes looked upon as the extended arms and legs of governments.
They usually focus on resolving matters on the ground when states do not, either
because the latter are unwilling, unable or cannot be seen to be doing certain
things. At the highest level, they serve as voices for oppressed people by
surfacing their concerns directly to decision-makers.
More than half a century ago, NSAs have been seen to fulfil various different
functions, but seem almost incoherent, making it difficult to be understood and
managed. Yet, they have proved to be yielding varying results in their respective
fields, all vectored towards the betterment of human society. As such, NSAs are

29. 29
a collective force to be reckoned with, and states should embrace and learn to
work with them. The following list describes some of the functions that NSAs
have been playing since their existence.
Voice
Any state’s governing system, whether socialist or democratic, will never be able
to aptly and fully represent its citizens. Even with the absence of corruption, there
will always be groups of people or communities that fall through the cracks, either
consciously or unconsciously. It is here that NSAs bring unheard, silenced or
forgotten voices to the attention of policymakers. This is done both at the national
and international level through lobbying, campaigning, negotiations, advocacies
and dialogues (O’Dwyer, et al., 2005).
Proxy
Due to political reasons, there are times where states cannot be too close with
another or certain groups. This may at times impede the chances of allowing
deals or agreements to be struck. This is where NSAs can function as proxies to
deliver certain messages to the other party because they are usually not bounded
by political positions. The primary condition for this to occur is that both the
state(s) and the NSA(s) involved share common objectives (SImbi and Thom,
2005).
Influence

30. 30
The people sector has a clear collective influence on governments and
businesses, beginning with the need to first acknowledge that individually, each
of them is a citizen as well as a consumer. As a citizen of their country, they get
to vote for their government which best represents their interests. As consumers,
they too vote, but with their money, on the kind of products and companies that
they support. Herein lies the opportunity for NSAs to help provide information and
create space for like-minded individuals to come together and influence their
support through collective action. In a way, NSAs can be said to have the ability
to modify human behaviour (Clark, 1995).
Assistance
NSAs can serve as the extended arms and legs of states, which are limited by
resources to aid in the implementation of policies at the national level. This can
be seen actively done so in the development work. Even in the case of foreign
assistance from developed countries, NSAs can help to fine-tune implementation
strategies to best-fit local circumstances (van Deveer and Dabelko, 2001).
Lead
Being non-partisan, most NSAs are not bounded by the same limitations of state
governments or politicians and are hence perfectly poised to champion utopian
ideas. Perhaps the most successful example of NSAs in leading the charge at the

31. 31
global level is the establishment of the Human Rights Council under the auspices
of the UN as well as in ASEAN (Gough and Shackley, 2001).
Accountability
States represent their people, which also mean they must be accountable to their
citizens for their national and international commitments. Therefore, one of the
important roles that NSAs play is to ensure the government keep to what they
have promised. A commonly used term of this function by many literatures is that
of a “watch dog”. The accountability also extends to policies that are yet to be
committed whereby they can work to ensure their respective constituency’s
interests is being taken into prior consideration. NSAs can then be also looked
upon as having the ability to create and set standards (Mercer, 2002).
Inform
One of the most glaring problems of the global capitalist system is asymmetrical
information. In a time of information overload, it is important to identify the ones
which are relevant and, more importantly, credible. This does not imply that all
information produced by NSAs is credible, but it does at the very least provide
additional perspective for states to consider. At some international negotiations,
NSAs plays an important role in aiding those developing countries that may not
have enough resources and capacity to keep track of developments to avoid any
disadvantage (Rothkopf, 1998).

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CASE STUDIES
The two case studies, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC), as well as the Association of South-East Asian Nations
(ASEAN), are looked upon as processes that can be seen as products and
enablers of the converging world. The UNFCCC and KP cover a more global
scheme of things, consisting of a wider number of states, and could also be
deemed as a concept brought about by the Western world. On the other hand,
ASEAN is more of an Eastern product, trying to cope in its own way with its wide
diversity. By studying both processes, it gives us a wider coverage and hopefully
insights on the roles of NSAs in the converging space.
Case Study 1: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change and the Kyoto Protocol
Introduction
Signed in 1992, the UNFCCC is a non-binding international environmental
agreement that brings countries together under a framework to be kept abreast
on climate change matters and explore cooperative efforts to limit the average
global temperature increase. Although does not bind countries to commitments, it
was brilliantly crafted to be a platform that allows negotiations towards protocols
that would be legally binding down the road. As of 2014, the treaty was ratified

33. 33
by 196 countries and is the platform with the broadest legitimacy to discuss and
forge international climate policies.
The UNFCCC is chosen as a case study because it is the contemporary process
most heavily invested by all states and has brought together a wide range of
NSAs, which is unparalleled by any environmental conference of this century.
Process
Like most other UN processes, the UNFCCC is based on consensus and
primarily recognises states as key players and decision-makers in negotiating a
global climate deal. This deal essentially aims to address mitigation efforts of
man’s impact on further global warming and adaptive measures for countries to
cope with the already-changing climate. Despite not having the same level of
recognition that of states (or Parties), NSAs are recognised as an integral part of
the process and are given access to the negotiation grounds. As in most
multilateral environmental agreements, participation of NSAs is achieved through
the granting of ‘observer organisation’ status to NGOs (Chagas, 2009), allowing
these entities to influence the negotiation process, promote transparency and
accountability within the limits imposed by the treaty regime.
The Kyoto Protocol

34. 34
Building on the principles of the Convention, the most well-known binding
document of the UNFCCC is the Kyoto Protocol (KP). The KP was the type of
eventual outcome that the Convention founders initially imagined. It essentially
helped operationalise the Convention by committing industrialised countries in
stabilising their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The KP is heavily focused on
the mitigation obligations of developed countries, recognising that they are largely
responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere.
The KP has two key components. First, it commits developed nations (or Annex-1
countries) to reduce GHG emissions. This means that they are only permitted to
emit a limited amount carbon dioxide (CO2). Thus, this makes permitted carbon
emissions a scarce commodity. Second, it contains flexible-market-mechanisms
that allow the trading of carbon emissions. Therefore, in addition to domestic
efforts, countries can trade extra emission targets through such mechanisms to
meet their commitments. The concurrent benefit of the KP is that it aims to
catalyse green investment and technological transfers towards developing
countries to stabilise global GHG emissions to a safe level.
The KP has two commitment periods. Period one is from 2008 to 2012 and
period two is from 2013 to 2020.
Recent Developments
The most significant environmental conference, COP15, was held in Copenhagen
in 2009. The significance of the event was that it was meant to have concluded

35. 35
the discussion for a global agreement for further commitments from Annex 1
nations in its second commitment period, and also a post-KP global agreement.
Eventually, the second commitment period was only barely agreed upon by
December 2011.
Negotiations for a post 2020 agreement continued under the pressure of NSAs,
especially the scientific community, as policymakers began to put together a new
protocol to deal with the worsening climate. Established at COP 17 in Durban, the
Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP)
began creating an agreement that will hopefully be ratified by all Parties. Known
as “the 2015 agreement”, this will be due in 2015 in Paris. In 2013, Governments
decided that there is an important need to identify and explore options that can
meet their commitments of keeping the global average temperature below 2ºC
above pre-industrial levels. This is also known as “the Pre-2020 ambition”
(UNFCCC, 2014).
Non-State Actors in the Climate Negotiations
Despite not being endowed with any formal legal personality under public
international law, NSAs have been playing increasingly important roles in the
development of multilateral environmental regimes such as the Convention, the
KP and the current ADP development. Under the auspices of the UNFCCC,
NSAs are recognised and admitted with the status of “Observer Organisations”.
In the early days of the climate change negotiation process, business- and
industry-related NGOs and environmental NGOs were particularly active and

36. 36
initiated systematic channels of communications with the Secretariat and the
Parties. This resulted in the acknowledgment of them as “constituencies”, with
their respective focal points. At current, there are a total of nine constituencies
and over 1,600 accredited observer organisations (UNFCCC, 2014) to the
Secretariat.
Non-State Actors in the Political Convergence
Prior to publication of the IPCC’s first report in 1990 and the 1992 signing of the
Convention, scientists and academics were the people who produced this
eventual outcome was that was made up of. In 1979, the first World Climate
Conference (WCC) was held by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in
Geneva. It was, in essence, a scientific conference that looked at magnitude and
impact of the climate change. This led to the creation of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988, which subsequently alerted the world,
especially governments, on the pressing need to have the world working together
to stabilise human’s impact on climate change. Hence, the political convergence
in the domain of climate change was, in essence, brought about by NSAs. But in
this segment, how NSAs has done so in terms of the implementation of policies
will be analysed.
First, in terms of implementing seemingly similar policies across nations,
especially between industrialised and industrialising countries, convergence and
divergence can be seen to be happening concurrently. At the broader level, given
the increase in scientific evidence and consensus among them, there is a

37. 37
trajectory towards the aim of keeping climate change and the negative impacts it
will have on humankind at bay. In that sense, a converging end goal was laid.
There is little contest and has been fundamental rationale behind the existence of
the negotiation platform.
However, the challenge here resides in the details on how states plan to achieve
the common goal of a safe and healthy environment together. The inclusion of
“Common but Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR)” principle is a cornerstone
concept that not only recognises the unique circumstances of each state’s
capability to deal with climate change, especially highlighting the historical
responsibilities of Annex-1 countries, which seems fair and just for all. The
underlying message could also be understood as that there are countries that do
not want to be deprived of the same kind of opportunities as those before them to
grow economically.
The NSAs of the climate process in the early 1990s, mainly made up of
organisations that associated themselves either with ENGOs or BINGOs, started
by pushing for a global protocol that would be fair to everyone. With mitigation as
its primary means to stabilise the impacts of climate change, their key priority was
getting industrialised nations to sign a legally-binding agreement with hard caps
on their emissions based on their historical obligations. Through lobbying, the
sharing of scientific information and even corridor dialogues, they played an
important role for successfully brokering the KP by addressing concerns of
policymakers, especially that of economic prosperity.

38. 38
Following the KP agreement in 1997, the ENGOs began to assume another role
of holding Annex-1 Parties that ratified KP accountable to their pledges back in
their home countries, but also continued to champion further commitments. This
is not only on behalf of the people, but can also be seen as on behalf of
developing countries to see to it that resources, technologies and capacities are
transferred across to aid them in their development with minimal carbon
emissions. For Non Annex-1 countries, the approach that the NSAs had was
slightly different. With the understanding that these nations may not have the
same historical obligations or resource capability, a strong focus was placed on
knowledge sharing and capacity building. While doing so, the NSAs continued to
soft lobby for some sort of voluntary commitments based on the expected
emissions trajectory. They had to address the concerns of developing nations
that a low carbon future pathway will not disadvantage their growth and wealth.
The convergence-divergence approach to resolve the climate problem seemed to
work when it started, and there were high hopes that the KP can successfully
address the concerns. Regretfully, subsequent assessment reports by the IPCC
have shown that the anthropogenic situation has worsened. One of the causation
is that the amount of emission is that the commitments to achieve these by the
developed nations were too little, too slow. Hence, the climatic impact has
already been kicked into motion. The second reason is that the exponential
growth of the other developing countries, such as East Asian countries, which did
not have any targets and have already, surpassed the amount of emissions by
the Annex-1 nations since 1990.

39. 39
This began to add pressure to both Annex-1 and non Annex-1 countries to take
more acute measures, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation. In terms of
mitigation commitments, the traditional argument is that energy consumption is
closely tied to economic growth, which historically means more carbon
emissions. Developing countries, especially Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa (BRICS), view this as an attempt of continued U.S hegemony in the
21st
century. In terms of adaptation measures, those at risks and least prepared
are largely from developing countries; thus, expectations were set on Annex-1
countries to also contribute resources such as technologies, capacity building
and finances. The urgency of the matter rocked the boat of the negotiations and
dynamics between states, for the fear of losing out, being taking advantage of,
and being exploited. This leads to mistrust and lead to uninformed decisions that
jeopardise the negotiations.
Hence, NSAs, especially the people sector, can be seen actively championing
governments and bridging trust through various means including the following:
conducting complementary research efforts and presenting results to
governments; piloting grassroots solutions; conducting capacity-building
sessions; using media to amplify the voices of those who are affected; bridging
resources; campaigning on national and global scales; and providing moral and
social incentives.
Essentially, the broad stroke of converging policies for climate change is kept true
since everyone is working towards a common goal through the logic of collective
actions (Gang, 2007). This means that policies will definitely be similar in nature

40. 40
with some variants depending on the country’s circumstances in terms of
resource and capacity. The additional factor of time, or rather the lack of it,
created additional fear and tension among states to negotiate further can only be
addressed by NSAs, because of its nationality neutrality position, and its interest
in the common global cause.
Second, regarding an international management system because of political
convergence, the climate change negotiations and their processes have been
positioned to be a pilot on how global governance can work (Figueres, 2012).
However, like any global governance system, fragmentation exists (Biermann,
2009). This is evident from the climate talks since the beginning. Factions of
nations have been pulling in different directions mainly due to the fear of losing
out in terms of their international competitiveness should one State or group
adopt a more stringent policies comparing to another. NSAs can also be seen to
be part of the fragmentation due to mixed interests within their own highly diverse
domain. Some wanted more extreme ways of hastening the time of getting things
done because the system has failed, whereas some believed otherwise. This
continued to be a tussle to a point that at COP15 in Copenhagen, there were
speculation that the negotiations will not only fail, but lead to the disintegration of
the climate change platform.
A recent paper by Nasiritousi and colleagues (2014) carried out surveys with 524
valid respondents from COP17 and COP18 to understand the role of NSAs on
global governance. They showed that NSAs are perceived to play a crucially
important role in global governance by a serving set of governance activities.

41. 41
They identified ten distinct functions - influencing agenda, influencing decisions,
proposing solutions, providing information and expertise, evaluating
consequences, mitigation action, adaptation action, raising awareness,
representing public opinion and finally, representing the marginalised – that NSAs
has been playing to facilitate environmental governance.
These ten functions have actually helped to bring decision makers together to
focus on the common interest and provide alternative of how states can work
together on pilot projects and initiatives on the ground. These efforts, collectively,
will in turn facilitate the goodwill and relationship among decision-makers at the
international stage.
Non-State Actors in the Economic Convergence
The Convention and the Protocol were created to steer the world towards solving
the climate problem. It would be naïve to think that there were no underlying
economic motivations for states to do so. In his thoroughly comprehensive 2006
Stern Review, Sir Nicholas Stern highlighted climate change as the widest-
ranging market failure the world has ever seen and that world will eventually need
to pay for the devastating economic repercussions or costs associated with
global warming. Though critically reviewed (Byatt et al., 2006), it has become a
baseline document for states to use and understand how it may impact them, and
for NSAs to lobby for further actions in solving the climate crisis.

42. 42
Economic convergence in the climate change movement largely revolved around
the issue of climate financing and its implementation. The focus here will be on
the KP’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD or REDD+) and the recently-
established Global Climate Fund (GCF).
The first way of transferring financing from the developed to developing countries
can be considered to have begun within the formation of KP and its market-based
mechanism. Under the KP (UNFCCC, 1998), there are three clearly defined
“flexible mechanisms” that can be used by Annex-1 countries to meet their
emission commitments. These are the International Emissions Trading (IET), the
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the Joint Implementation (JI). Only
the CDM was designed to encourage production of emission reductions in non-
Annex I Parties. This also presented itself as a huge opportunity for developing
countries to not only gain wealth, but also hopefully access to resources,
capacities and technologies to leapfrog their industrialisation phase and put in
sufficient adaptation measures to the changes brought about by global warming.
By 2007, over 2,500 projects were registered and hopes have been high that
CDM is the leading vehicle in transferring private finance to mitigation projects in
developing world.
There are several primary challenges in implementing the CDM projects. First,
the project has to prove that it is “additional” (i.e., that its implementation is due
to its receipt of extra carbon credit income from the CDM). Any project registered
under the CDM that would have been built anyway, without carbon credit income,

43. 43
allows an industrialized country to emit more than their targets, without causing
any changes on the ground where the project is located. In reality, non-additional
projects are going forward under the CDM on a large scale. Researchers
estimate the proportion of CDM projects that are truly additional to be only a
fraction of the market. Hence, this opens up opportunities for fraud to occur, in
which on-going projects claim to be otherwise. Stricter rules by NSAs are
proposed, but the problem still prevails. Second, it has proven to be difficult to
aptly price emissions so that countries will cut their emissions. Depending on the
pricing, there are times where it is cheaper for Annex-1 countries to buy carbon
credits instead of finding ways to cut their own emissions, paving conditions for
corruptions to occur, and also defeating the purpose of creating a low carbon
future altogether. The European economic crisis in the late 2000s also created
another problem where there is hardly any demand for emission credits, possibly
contributing to KP’s second commitment that was watered down with weakened
targets. The third challenge pertains to the projects’ actual implementation.
Specifically, the proposed projects on paper often differ on what is actually
happening on the ground. In 2007, the journal ‘Climate Change’ did an
investigation on the CDM and found out that the projects implemented contradicts
its mandate on sustainable development. In fact, one of the worst projects is
Campos Novos, an 880 MW dam in Brazil. The project involved violent
suppression of protests and the displacement of 750 families without the
compensation promised to them being made (Bozmoski et al., 2008).
Recognising that forest degradation and deforestation accounts for about 17 –
20% of GHG emissions (Fearnside, 2000), the idea to pay developing countries

44. 44
to protect their forests was brought up for discussion in as part of the CDM
discussion. However, such projects were eventually dropped because of
administrative challenges and disagreements on how should the carbon credits
should be allocated. Efforts on this eventually took on their own form and were
named Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD,
and subsequently REDD+) through the active lobbying of the Coalition for
Rainforest Nation (CfRN), an intergovernmental organisation in response to what
many perceived to be a failure to address a major source of global greenhouse
gas emissions.
Because of the multilevel governance nature of REDD and the nature of
relationship between states and NSAs in tropical forest nations, REDD comes
with potential challenges such as definition of forest, land tenure issues,
compensation schemes and stakeholders engagements. And these issues with
REDD largely affects the indigenous people (Schroeder, 2010). One classic
example of a country facing implementation challenges is Indonesia, the largest
REDD project approved till date (The Guardian, 2013). The most significant
challenge is the regulations on tenure that is causing various unwanted conflicts
between the indigenous people, the government (both central and local), and
private investors. In this respect, several international NSAs such as the World
Resources Institute (WRI), Greenpeace, and Flora & Fauna International (FFI),
along with local organisations such as WALHI, Sawit Watch and TuK Indonesia,
are working to resolve the matter. Funding from the Norwegian government has
also been halted until some of the deliverables have been met. With reforms
within the Indonesian government resulting in the dissolution of its REDD+

45. 45
Agency and merger between the Ministry of Forestry and Ministry of
Environment, the progress of this project seems to be in limbo.
With the increasing demand by countries severely affected and will be affected by
the anthropogenic impacts of climate change, an alternative form of climate
financing was needed. After much lobbying by developing countries along with
NSAs, a global fund was proposed, which became a beacon of hope in the
negotiations despite the general failure at Copenhagen. Named the GCF, it was
established in the 2010 UNCCC with a clear mandate of its governing instrument
the year after. Finally, in 2014, the Global Climate Fund was officially launched in
Peru with USD $10 billion of start-up funds with the remaining USD $100 billion
per annum by the year 2020 (GCF, 2014).
Still considered to be in its infancy, NSAs from both the private and people
sectors are being actively brought into the process. First, one would notice the
heavy focus placed on the role of private sector and how the initial fund for GCF
should help to rake in more capital from businesses and industries to support
climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Second, with respect to participation of
people sector NSAs, it can be said to be weak due to the exclusion of such
requirement in the founding documents (Godoy, 2013). But the nature of NSAs is
that it is more of a proactive group of people, hence self-organised groups and
alliances such as Climate & Development Knowledge Network have begun to
proactively approach the GCF to offer assistance. NGOs have been actively
pushing for more stakeholder participation in view that the GCF is moving into the

46. 46
crucial phase of designing policies and distributing resources, especially with
regard to the controversial debate over the Private Sector Facility.
In all the financing made available to transfer technology and resources to the
less affluent countries, the ability for these nations to maximise these
opportunities resides with their ability to better regulate their existing assets, and
minimise the opportunities for fraud to occur. And it is in this space that NSAs are
working with states to sort out the necessary mediation measures.
Non-State Actors in the Cultural Convergence
Perhaps the best way to describe this is the public messaging and awareness
level on the issue of climate change. Has the world been coming together to
agree that climate change is happening? Is mankind responsible? Will it affect
individuals? What can individuals do about it? These are some of the questions
that have to be addressed in order to determine if the views, ideas, practices and
behaviours are on converging path.
Early in the 1990s, climate change and global warming was perceived by most to
be an abstract issue. This is something that policymakers and small communities
or groups of like-minded individuals were interested in. From then to the mid-
2000s, there were still large array of contestation on climate change issues by
sceptics and denials. However, the science has largely addressed most, if not all,
of the concerns of the latter (Oreskes, 2007).

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In 2006, the former US Vice-President, Mr Al Gore, launched the movie ‘An
Inconvenient Truth’. This movie can be attributed to have kicked off the global
climate movement, or at least catalysed it. Following that, a slew of campaigns
and activities were carried out by various NSAs, especially the NGOs, to actively
raise public awareness on the issue, in hope that there will enough pressure on
governments towards agreeing to a global climate deal. These happened through
the mobilisation of the social and mainstream media, harnessing high profiled
individuals’ celebrity power and influence, empowering individuals to propagate
climate messages by running capacity-building sessions, as well as
collaborations between international and local NGOs to help push the climate
agenda forward. Al Gore too continued to actively champion the cause through
the creation of The Climate Reality Project.
The private sector has also played a huge role in looking for solutions through
technology to combat climate change. MNCs can be seen leading the role by
coming together in a coalition to look into their own processes and explore ways
to not only cut their emissions, but also their energy consumption. This is perhaps
driven by sound business logic as it saves companies money that adds to their
annual bottom line. This same logic is the reason why more SMEs are doing the
same. Social enterprises have also look at this as an opportunity to make profits
by providing practical and financially sustainable solutions for developing
countries. One good example is Nuru Energy that provides energy to many parts
of Africa and helped create jobs for the local communities.

48. 48
There is also a significant increase in partnership between the people and private
sector to co-run campaigns. This breaks away from the traditional mould or ideas
that one must choose either the environment or economics alone. In fact, it is
widely believe that the climate crisis presented itself not only a challenge, but
also an opportunity for early investment to happen in order to change the way the
world works, towards one that is of a local carbon future. A proponent of this that
is actively positioning himself to drive the change is Sir Richard Branson, who
founded the ‘Carbon War Room’ initiative to do that.
Despite the failure in the political process of the climate negotiations in
Copenhagen back in 2009, the influence and capacity built up on the ground has
gain enough momentum that the social fabric itself because the safety net. Both
the private and people sector, disappointed by the negotiation outcome, went off
to find their own ways to resolve the problems. This includes piloting more
projects and innovation ideas, but more importantly, worked in partnership to
scale up those that are already successful.
For whatever reasons and motivations behind both State and NSAs, the climate
movement can be considered as probably the largest and most successful
environmental movement in the twenty-first century. Despite it is not one that is
totally homogenous, but it is largely pointing towards the right direction because
of the increases sense of planetary common ownership. The issue of East-West
influence has not been a major problem for the convergence and neither is the
local-global ideological contest. While the earlier is addressed by scientific
evidence globally, the later is given an opportunity to be creative in addressing

49. 49
the climate issue. It allows both global and local approaches and messaging in
order to reach out to a wider audience and have them relate to the trans-
boundary problem.
The scientific and academic community continues to work to find relevant
evidence to disprove denials and sceptics, but also keep the world abreast of the
climatic impact. The NGOs and businesses sector too continues to spread
awareness and explore solutions on both large and small scales. And at the
international policy level, the negotiations continues but at the very least, there is
much stronger political will. As the aim towards a concluding climate deal beyond
the year 2020 is due in 2015, both developing and developed countries are
stepping forward with their own contributions and establishing national level
institutional framework to support a legally-binding and ambitious outcome (Ban,
2014).

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Case Study 2: Association of South-East Asian Nations as part of
South-east Asia’s Integration Efforts
Introduction
To overcome the common fear of communism and to achieve robust economic
growth (Eccleston et al., 1998), regional South-east Asian state representatives
came together to inaugurate the entity of ASEAN on 8 August 1967. It started
with five founding nations – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and
Thailand – and is now ten members strong, comprising all South-east Asian
countries except Timor Leste.
The bloc faced three key challenges since its formation. First, how could it
maintain sovereignty and autonomy not only from the rest of the world, but also
from each other, despite wanting to integrate as a region? Second, how should it
achieve cultural integration of the people despite their diverse backgrounds and
histories? For the region to succeed, it should not be only at the political level,
people on the ground must feel for it as well in order to create a market for
growth. Third, how could it sustain collective economic growth as a bloc?
Fortunately, there has been good progress in addressing these issues. This was
made possible because of the “ASEAN Way”, a unifying move based on the
ideals of non-interference, informality, minimal institutionalisation, consultation
and consensus, non-use of force and non-confrontation under the 1976 Treaty of
Amity and Cooperation in South-east Asia.

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ASEAN is chosen as a case study because the region is home to very diverse
economic circumstances, cultural heritage and political inclinations (Henderson,
2014). The focus here is not so much on NSAs’ involvement in an IGO, but rather
on how they complement each other’s efforts in the regional converging space.
The region’s success should not be taken for granted: although the integration
process may have been long, slow and not quite there yet, but it is definitely one
that has been underrated based on several international media’s skewed
depictions. In recent decades, there is a growing number of NSAs in the region
(Igarashi, 2011) and it is interesting to examine what are the kind of roles they
have been playing to enable the economic, social and political convergence.
Recent Developments
Building an integrated community remains a primary goal in order to successfully
address the three aforementioned concerns. Hence, ASEAN has created a
number of top-down initiatives including an ASEAN Charter, an ASEAN Identity
campaign and several Ministerial level meetings addressing specific issues such
as the environment, education and trade. All these separate efforts were
eventually consolidated into a larger framework called the Initiative for ASEAN
Integration (IAI), launched in 2000, to help the newer members (Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Vietnam) better integrate economically, thus narrowing the
development gap between them and the original members (ASEAN, 2014).
The IAI consists of three key pillars. First, as one of ASEAN’s three pillars, the
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) aims to "implement economic integration

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initiatives" to create a single market across ASEAN nations. Second, the ASEAN
Political-Security Community (APSC) aims to create a community that portrays
the following characteristics: a rules-based community of shared values and
norms; a cohesive, peaceful, stable and resilient region with shared responsibility
for comprehensive security; and a dynamic and outward-looking region in an
increasingly integrated and interdependent world. Third, the ASEAN Socio-
Cultural Community (ASCC) focuses on human development, social welfare and
protection, social justice and rights to ensure environmental sustainability, build
the ASEAN identity, and more importantly, narrow the development gap among
nations (ASEAN, 2011).
These three pillars of the IAI each have a blueprint that aims to accelerate the
integration process.
Non-State Actors in ASEAN
While ASEAN as a regional bloc have begun its integration efforts since 1967,
this could not be said the same for the work of its NSAs. Since its inception,
efforts for change and growth have been more of a top-down process, and one
that has received long-standing criticisms of being elitist and lacking political
inclusiveness (Chavez, 2006). This took a turn in 1997, during the regional
financial crisis, when the idea of having a “People Centred” ASEAN was made
public as part of its review of its Vision 2020 plans. This triggered a series of
discussions both at the political level as well as among CSOs on what is to

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become of the Association going forward: how will this idea be integrated in its
current process and how will this translate into implementation?
However, the idea that people should participate in ASEAN decision-making
processes is not new and had already emerged among prominent figures within
the elite ASEAN circle as early as in the 1980s. One of the founding fathers of
ASEAN, Dr Adam Malik, once stated, “the shaping of a future of peace, friendship
and cooperation is far too important to be left to government and government
officials... [as such, there is a need for] ever-expanding involvement and
participation of the people” (Alatas, 2001). This led to a series of discussions
among academia and policymakers on the possibility of forming a group of
thinkers to provide constructive recommendations to decision makers. With the
support of several like-minded individuals and think tanks, ASEAN-ISIS was
officially launched in June 1988. ASEAN-ISIS became integral in opening up
doors for further NSA engagements.
At the moment, the recognised platform of involvement between NSAs and
ASEAN is limited to two main vehicles with three stakeholder groups.
The two vehicles are the ASEAN People’s Assembly (APA) and ASEAN Civil
Society Conference (ACSC). The APA was created through the recommendation
of ASEAN-ISIS in 1995 to have an “…assembly of people of ASEAN”, which led
to the first session held in 2000 to bring CSOs together and meet up to provide
insights to policymakers in a parallel dialogue. However, participants in APA felt
that the discussion was not enough and felt the need for broader engagements

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with more CSOs and therefore piloted the first round of ACSC in 2005. The first
ACSC was expected to only meet once, but due the success and the
contributions it has to the ASEAN Ministers, it was given a new lease of life and
recognised by ASEAN and carried on running as an annual conference; it is
incorporated in the Vientiane Action Program (VAP) signed during the 2004
ASEAN Summit. Essentially, the APA can be looked as a top-down driven
engagement platform, whereas the ACSC is a bottom-up initiative (Chandra,
1999).
The three stakeholder groups are the community, consisting of community
representatives such as NGOs, CSOs, NPOs and loose community alliances;
businesses, comprising representatives from the business, industries and
coalitions such as the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASEAN-
CCI) and ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC); and individuals.
The third group can be said to be unique to the region. There is no formal or
inclusive process, but rather it is brought forward through word of mouth and
acknowledged by the larger community. These individuals, when brought
together, are bestowed the title the Eminent Persons Group (EPG). Comprising
of highly distinguished and well-respected citizens from ASEAN member
countries, the EPG was first set up to examine and provide practical
recommendations in the formation of an ASEAN Charter. They are made up of
individuals from diverse background such as CSOs, industry, politics and
academia.

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Non-State Actors in Political Convergence
Even with the recent opening up of Myanmar, political convergence in the form of
a regional system like that of the EU is still far from being a reality. However,
there are interests still to evolve in its own way and as such, the ASEAN Inter-
Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) was established in 1977. However, the only way
to influence or participate how it will turn out can only be done so within the two
official vehicles recognised by the Association, the APA and ACSC.
Hence, the political convergence in ASEAN is limited to the convergence of
policies driven by common issues. This is part of an on-going effort to build trust
among each other at the highest level. The existences of NSAs are still
considered relatively young and inexperienced in comparison to the wider
international community. This is largely due to the impression that ASEAN is
weak and has minimal impact to the policy formation of the nations involved, and
also that the Association was a very closed door platform that does not allow
such participation. However, despite their fragmented approach in providing
complementary studies, research and campaigning, they have had relative
success in influencing the states through ASEAN and nationally in their own
countries. This in turn has prompted the growth of NSAs role in the region (Aviel,
1999). Also, with the increased level of education and creation of liberty spaces
(Gerard, 2014), there are now more local and regional organisations stepping
forward to influence the shaping of the common policies.

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Non-State Actors in Economic Convergence
Economic integration and growth is the heart and soul of ASEAN since its
founding days. Upon independence from the control of their respective colonial
powers and foreign influences, the region thirsted for growth and for the level of
success seen in the west for the betterment of its people. Therefore, economic
convergence here could be looked as a collective bloc trying to catch up
economically with the rest of the world.
In this respect, when taking a deeper look into the various policies formulated by
the governments at ASEAN level, one will notice that the involvement of NSAs,
especially that of the business and industries have actually begun much earlier.
An example of such interaction is the involvement of the business sector in many
of ASEAN’s economic integration initiatives, which resulted in the establishment
of the ASEAN-CCI in 1972. The ASEAN-CCI became an important space through
which the business community channels inputs and concerns on regional
economic issues to ASEAN and the eventual creation of the ASEAN Free Trade
Area (AFTA) in the early 1990s (Bowles, 1997). Following the surge of trade
liberalisation in the mid-1980s, the ASEAN business community began to realise
the increasing production diversity and complementary nature of ASEAN
economies, resulting from the process of industrialization and the operations of
TNCs in the region.
After the remaining five South-east Asian countries joined ASEAN, there were
concerns over a slowdown of overall economic growth and a widening wealth gap

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of between member countries. The gap is most noticeable between two groups:
the front-runners, also known as the ASEAN6 – Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand; and the rest, also known as CLMV –
Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. A recent study showed that despite the
CLMV joining the Association later, overall growth was achieved, and economic
convergence between the two groups was happening (Ismail, 2004). Much of this
success is attributed to the formation of the AFTA.
Non-State Actors in Cultural Convergence
Quoting Prof Kishore Mahbubani, “The Asia-Pacific region is developing a unique
'corporate culture' on regional security: an unusual blend of East and West. It
combines both Western concepts (for example, of national sovereignty as well as
regional organisation) and Eastern attitudes on managing differences. The best
current model is found in South-East Asia.” (1995). Despite his optimism, this
dissertation argues that it is not fully true.
Cultural convergence in South-east Asia exists in two manners. First, in the top-
down manner, ASEAN states are finding ways to work together towards a
common interest. Second, the bottom-up domain largely refers to the larger
community integration and a sense of belonging and ownership.
Mahbubahni’s claim is somewhat true. The ASEAN Way is being attributed with
the success of the culture of resolving disputes and advancing security co-
operation in the region (Acharya, 1998). But policymakers, in the interest of

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positive pubic messaging to provide assurance for foreign investment, sometimes
overstate the ASEAN Way. The second form, which is one that involves the
larger community, can be considered to be their Achilles heel (Low, 2004). The
failure of the later integration will lead to the eventual economic stagnation
without a regional free market space, and eventually also poses as a security
threat.
In many ways, the interest to create a better integration in order to facilitate trade
is what compelled member states to begin their engagements with NSAs. With
the advantage of a more globalised world and access to technological
connectivity, CSOs in the region has mushroomed despite the various political
regimes that may impede their formation (Olds, 1999). The success of the
region’s policies in providing primary and secondary education has also helped
catalyse this growth in CSOs numbers. These CSOs, with their respective causes
and issues, are no longer interested in merely engagement work through the
given channels alone. They are beginning to fulfil other roles such as on-the-
ground development work and capacity building, with or without governmental
support or endorsement. The issues that they champion are often transboundary
by nature and affect the region collectively. Such example includes the
development of the Mekong River and the transboundary haze problem. These
efforts can be seen as ways to get the people in the region to build ownership of
the region by working together.
These CSOs, however, are also facing their own challenges. The idea of CSOs is
more of a Western notion that is about not taking the current social normative

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without understanding. This concept is not prevalent in the East Asian culture.
Hence, they are also going through a process of self-discovery on how they
should function by integrating values and approaches from both sides. This will
also cascade down the approaches they have in terms of how they influence
policies and the people they impact.
Therefore, Mahbubani’s claim of the model example of an East-West hybrid
society in South-east Asia is one that is still work in progress.

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DISCUSSION
Building on the assumption that globalisation is inevitable and convergence will
build a better society for all, this dissertation argues that NSAs play a crucial role
in ensuring this happens in the most inclusive manner possible. The two case
studies selected complement each other by covering the different aspects of the
convergence: Western-influenced versus Eastern-influenced; global platform
versus regional platform.
This discussion points the various functions of NSAs can be grouped together
and viewed as the role they will play in the respective convergences in different
circumstances. Their differences are in terms of the intensity, which is affected by
three primary catalysts.
Trust Building in Political Convergence
Political convergence is primarily impeded by the ability to trust. The fear of each
other, whether in terms of losing out economically or bruising of national pride, is
perhaps natural, especially when the parties do not have any prior relationships.
This is evident in the failed climate negotiations at Copenhagen, and in ASEAN,
the basis of creating the ASEAN Way approach (Koga, 2010). However, for
political convergence to happen, this needs to be overcome. Both case studies
demonstrate that the NSAs are doing that, through their respective means.

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Trust building is required in three different relationships. First, it is required
among states. States are still the de facto key players at negotiations at the
global or regional scale, and the fear of disadvantaging their own countries is
holding them back. This is where one will notice NSAs are able to bring
governments together in a bilateral discussion. By building capacity, NSAs also
ensure that states will not be hampered by asymmetrical information when
entering into agreements. This is commonly seen at the climate negotiations
between Chinese and American through the NGOs.
Next, trust is necessary between states and NSAs. This is, to a large extent,
being taken for granted at the international level since NSAs are given an official
status after years of lobbying. As the second case study shows, however, the
existence of NSAs is not the norm for East Asia. Nonetheless, the founding group
of NSAs and their involvement in ASEAN have been relatively successful through
the creation APA under the EPG’s recommendation, which eventually led to
ACSC, and continues to grow in strength. It is not to say that there is no need for
further relationship building between states and NSAs on the international
platform, it just means it would be easier. In fact, because of the efforts by the
NGOs on climate change, the UNFCCC created a platform called the
“Momentum for Change” initiative in 2011 not only to recognise the good works of
NSAs, by allowing them to further their work (IISD, 2011). By building trust
between states and NSAs, governments can leverage on the reach of NSAs, and
NSAs will be empowered to know that their opinions and suggestions will be
taken into consideration in policy formulation.

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Finally, trust is paramount between the state and its citizens. While states may be
the official representative of their citizens on the various negotiation platforms,
they may not necessarily have the full support of their people. Even in the ideal
situation of a truly democratic nation, there will always be opposing views from
some sections of the citizenry. For states whose political selection process is less
transparent, there is even less faith in the government. No amount of public
funding can truly reach out to all sectors of the community and the people and
this is where the role of NSAs becomes crucial. As NSAs are typically driven by
the bottom-up, states can engage them as proxies to build relationship with its
people. However, it should be noted that there must still be on-going efforts by
states to engage directly with its citizens.
Asset Management in Economic Convergence
Economic convergence allows less affluent nations to catch up with the affluent
ones. Regardless of the kind of policies made, the conditions to diminish the
wealth gap reside in the management of their assets. These assets refer to
human capital and natural resources.
Human capital – Instead of waiting for things to happen or for foreign aid to
arrive, modifications such as pro-active capacity building or knowledge
acquisition efforts can boost human capital. First, states could upgrade the
overall education level of their workforce, which would better equip workers to
handle more complex jobs. Second, states could enable an environment that
allows transfer of technical knowledge from the more advanced nations to less

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advanced nations. This will also result in a secondary benefit of people stepping
up and creating their own set of solutions to boost economic growth.
Natural resources – Reforms here refer to the type of legislation in place to
govern how resources can be used. Such legislation should protect the local
people and the environment, but at the same time, enable an environment to
create a competitive advantage for the country in the global stage. A clear
example of how NSAs is aiding the management of natural resources is the
REDD+ project partnership between Indonesia and Norway, where NGOs are
helping to resolve the land tenure issues.
In both case studies, it was shown that there is a need to better manage the
resources of developing countries to avoid issues of fraud, corruption and even
exploitation of their assets. By functioning as watchdogs, speaking up for the
marginalised, running capacity building workshops and conducting field research,
NSAs are actively helping to create conditions for economic convergence.
Common Ownership in Cultural Convergence
The end product of cultural convergence allows for differences to be embraced. It
does not mean that everyone should believe in the same ideas, virtues or think
alike. Rather, people would become more knowledgeable of each other’s culture
and be tolerant to each other’s differences while focusing on the common things
that are shared across different cultures. Building this kind of diverging-
converging cultural convergence will require two levels of approach.

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First, it starts with having self-identification, which is the fundamental question of
who makes us, us. This will require community groups to bring those of a similar
culture together and assist the self-discovery of individuals. But this must be done
in moderation without allowing one to think that its own culture is superior.
Keeping a person rooted is important when integrating with others.
Second, people will need to focus on shared commonalities, despite having
different cultural histories. This is also important in terms of recognising that each
of us hold a citizenship of this planet, recognising resources are limited so as not
to fall into the “tragedy of the commons”.
Innovation, Information and Connectivity as Catalysts
Cutting across the three spheres of convergence, three vehicles that will better
enable NSAs are identified.
Innovation – In an increasingly complex world, which has been increasingly
flattened due to technological advancement, things are no longer as clear-cut as
it was before between what is right or wrong. There is an increasing number of
ways through which ideologies are fused together, whether East-West, Local-
Global, or even North-South. It requires innovation to take into account various
considerations and come up with some sort of compromise. This will greatly aid
negotiations and even the implementation of policies and projects.

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Information – Perhaps a more apt description should be “accurate & relevant
information”. We are living in an age of the Information Revolution. But the days
of empowering individuals with information are now transitioning into ones that
are disempowering due to information overload. It is not so much just about
churning reports and that hoping someone happens to read them; rather, it is
about taking the information and processing it, and make it relevant to the
stakeholder that one is engaging.
Connectivity – The most obvious is virtual connectivity, given the current
technological advancement. However, connectivity must include human-to-
human interactivity. The ability to successfully bridge the gap in the various
convergences requires the human touch, a person and a face to relate with and
to speak to.
Varying Circumstances
The climate negotiations, being held at the global platform, is one that is heavily
influenced by the culture of the west and liberalism. This provides pre-existing
fertile conditions for NSAs to come together very early in the process. In contrast,
ASEAN, with a more conservative nature of East Asia, suffers from social
stratification, which implicitly becomes a barrier for the formation of community-
groups to challenge the status quo of state leaders. Despite these differences,
the presence of NSAs can be seen to be increasingly playing a more proactive
role in view of globalisation and the shift of power to the masses. The approach