Evolutionary dynamics of transnational private regulation

Abstract

This article puts forward an approach to account for the evolution of transnational private rule-makers. Morphing of organisations, procedures, and rules is suggested as a key strength of various forms of private authority. Directing attention towards evolutionary dynamics, and their impact on the goals pursued by transnational private regulators, as well as on the implications for targets and beneficiaries of their rules, brings forward various implications of transnational private regulators. These implications include tensions between the complementary and competitive relations between public and private authority, and question the capacity of the former to effectively enrol, steer and influence the latter. The article discusses the role of regulatory and organisational crises as catalysts for the emergence and evolution of transnational private rule-makers, and how crises affect the relation between public and private regimes. Finally, we reflect on possible competitive challenges that emerge by employing a dynamic perspective to transnational private regulation.