Private governance across multiple arenas: European interest associations as interface actors

Abstract

As a result of growing economic globalization and rapid technological changes governance in the field of information and communication policy increasingly requires policy co-ordination across multiple arenas, not only including vertical co-ordination across different institutional levels, but also horizontal co-ordination across different policy sectors. In view of these new co-ordination demands the mediation and accommodation of heterogeneous interest positions at the interfaces of various institutional levels and sectoral boundaries become a crucial governance function. The specific political, economic and technological conditions underlying information and communication technology policy favour this function being carried out by European interest associations - a development which co-incides with significant strengthening and structural integration of the system of European interest representation.