Theory of Multistakeholder Interactions

Abstract This chapter develops a theory of multistakeholder interactions to explain why global health partnerships arise in some issue areas but not in others. At the center of this theory are civil society organizations (CSOs). By focusing on the interaction between the policy preferences of CSOs and economic calculations of the business sector, the chapter generates three theoretical scenarios which promote or hamper PPPs: conflicting, overlapping, and diverging preferences. The key message of these scenarios is that PPPs tend to thrive only when policy preference of civil society and economic calculations of the business sector overlap, and that the overlap emerges only when CSOs pursue a provision of specific goods, not when they advocate for public regulations. To contextualize the theoretical argument, this chapter maps out existing knowledge on the determinants of partnership formation, highlighting that the agency and power of CSOs are largely overlooked in the existing discussions on the creation of PPPs. It also discusses why civil society warrants special attention, emphasizing discursive power as a key source of civil society’s influence.