The paper draws on the theory of contestation (Wiener 2014) in order to discuss the empirical research on spaces where responsibility is negotiated in global governance. The paper argues that such spaces are a necessary condition for enhanced equality in global governance. Theories of normative order or global governance that take an organisational approach focus on the institutional conditions for responsibility as a fundamental principle, the proposed theoretical innovation takes a bottom-up perspective to identify pathways to negotiation. The key issue of this approach consists in conceptualising responsibility as an 'emerging organising principle' or a type two norm (Wiener 2008, 2014; Hansen-Magnusson, Wiener and Vetterlein, in preparation).
