United Nations and Civil Society

Nora McKeon studied history at Harvard University and Political Science at the Sorbonne, before joining the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. She held positions of increasing responsibility there, culminating in overall direction of the FAO's relations with civil society. She now divides her time between writing and lecturing on development discourse, peasant farmer movements and UN-civil society relations; and coordinating an exchange programme for African and European farmers on agriculture and trade policy issues. She recently published (with Michael Watts and Wendy Wolford) Peasant Organizations in Theory and Practice (2004).

'Nora McKeon's book is a masterful investigation of how and why the UN system is (slowly) opening up to civil society - a key development in global governance. This is a major contribution and a rare bridge between academic scholarship and policy debate' Mario Pianta, University of Urbino 'This book is a tonic recipe for reinvigorating the UN by opening up its forums to the social actors most dramatically affected by globalization. This is required reading for all those concerned with global governance' Henri Carsalade, Former Assistant Director-General of FAO 'Nora McKeon's reflections will, we hope, contribute to making the UN the organization of "we the peoples" ' Mamadou Cissokho, Honorary President, West African Network of Peasant and Agricultural Producers' Organizations (ROPPA)

• Part I: Setting the Stage1. Scope and Methodology2. A World Context in Flux: Challenges to Multilateralism and the Quest for Global Governance3. Global Actors in Evolution: From International NGOs to Transnational Social Movements4. Getting the Terms StraightPart II: The FAO, Civil Society and the Global Governance of Food and Agriculture5. Background6. Civil Society and the World Food Summit7. From Commitments to Action: Civil Society and the FAO on the Trail of Elusive Political Will8. The Global Food Crisis: A Political Opportunity for Civil Society?Part III: Comparative Look at UN-Civil Society Engagement9. Civil Society Participation in Global Policy Forums10. Civil Society and Summit Follow-up: Linking Global Commitments and Local Action11. Governance of UN-Civil Society Relations: Interface Mechanisms and the Issues of Representativity, Legitimacy and Accountability12. UN Reform Proposals, the Millennium Development Goals and Civil Society: Are We on the Right Track?Part IV: Conclusions and Open Issues13. Major Challenges for the United Nations in its Relations with Civil Society14. Issues for Further InvestigationBibliographyAnnex: Cross-System Survey Responding EntitiesIndex