Political processes around the globe are increasingly decentralized. Transnational networks (both criminal and civil), social movements, NGOs, private firms, individuals using social media, scientists and expert groups all engage the state and one another, constraining and enabling political behavior and at times substituting for the state as providers of governance.
Faculty in this cluster share an interest in the influence of these non-state actors on all levels of domestic and global policy processes: issue construction, policy framing and implementation, effectiveness, and legitimacy. Whether studying the impact of lobbying and political finance on policymakers, the input of experts on environmental and urban planning debates, or the role of advocacy networks in shaping or constraining global policy options, we take seriously the role of the "sovereignty-free" layer in local, national and global politics.