Samantha Besson (University of Fribourg) & José L. Martí (Pompeu Fabra University) have posted No International Democratic Representation without Institution. Lifting the Democratic Veil of Functionalist, Incorporation and Agency Theories of Representation by International Organizations (Forthcoming in Besson, S. (ed.), Democratic Representation in, by and through International Organizations, 2025) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
In their chapter, the authors build upon their previous work on international democratic representation in and through IOs, and brings their argument in favour of IOs as 'multiple international representation systems' one step further to democratic representation by IOs. The first section sets the conceptual framework for the argument by presenting what is meant by international 'democratic legitimacy' and 'representation' in the chapter. The second section specifies the subjects of democratic representation by IOs. It argues against an approach, now common both in international democratic theory and in the international law of IOs, that considers States to be the subjects of international representation as opposed to peoples, on the one hand, and States' peoples only as opposed to the multiple publics which those peoples, but also others, are re-instituted into by different public institutions now involved in international law-making, on the other. In the third and final section, the chapter turns to the relation of democratic representation by IOs. It criticizes three existing accounts of that relation, prevalent in theory and practice, for their lack of democratic legitimacy: functionalism, incorporation and agency.