The World Social Forums. A paradoxical application of participatory doctrine

World governance is currently characterised by the doctrine of participation, which calls on non-governmental actors to associate themselves with the adoption and implementation of international regulation. Generally speaking, the civil society organisations involved in these issues have responded favourably to the call in the past 20 years. However, openness is hardly a feature of international governance and many non-governmental organisations are now wary of public coordination forums. This no doubt explains the current impact of a process such as the World Social Forum. The project ongoing in the Forum is ambitious and differs from everything previously attempted at international level to coordinate civil society. By betting on broad participation by organisations with very different sizes, histories, modes of operation and origins, the Forum is working towards the emergence of a new transnational citizen culture. Participation is here the goal and not the means of governance.