A Power Game of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives

The critiques of power inequalities in MSIs predominantly focus on the domination of trans-national corporations in the process of negotiation, owing to information asymmetry and resource and capacity differentials. To challenge their influences, some MSI protagonists, under the influence of institutional thinking, proposes ‘anti-firm’ strategies, such as stronger sanction, more effective monitoring, and developing strategic alliance among non-market stakeholders, in an attempt to redraw the balance of power. By evaluating the effectiveness of the ‘anti-firm’ proposals, this paper argues that targeting trans-national corporations as the villain would simply create a dichotomy of ‘them versus us’. This perspective shows an inadequate understanding of the complex incentive structures of different stakeholders. Preoccupied with the power dynamics within MSIs, other wider dimensions of power inequalities, such as North-South tension, global-local dilemmas, and the legitimacy of non-governmental organisations in MSIs, are all side-stepped.