Governing with Public Agencies : The Development of a Global Administrative Space and the Creation of a New Role for Public Agencies

The theme of this anthology is the new role of public agencies within what we have termed a “global administrative space,” a space created through increased collaborations and interconnectedness between global, regional and national public and private actors. Within this space policies are adopted, principles developed, and even law is at times enacted. The role and functions of public agencies have hereby undergone fundamental changes. Public agencies at global, regional and national levels act as stand-in legislators in areas within fundamental rights re- gimes, regulatory frameworks for sector specific areas (financial systems, pharma- ceutical regulations, data protection) as well as fishing and agricultural industries, to name only a few. Also private entities partake, as well as other public actors, such as judicial actors of different kinds. The decision-making capacity, procedures and out-comes vary, as well as the degree of ‘globalisation’. The global administrative space can thereby be identified as either connected to or separated from the national constitutional arenas. The question on the role of the public agencies within the global administrative space is taken on with an exploratory approach, in order to operationalize the concept. The question will be addressed from an international, regional and national level, providing different interpreta- tions in different contexts. Some are projecting future applications, whilst others are taking stakes of current operations