Introduction.- The problem.- How do corporations choose their partner NGO?.- Outline and methodology.- Part I Getting to the core.- 1. NGOs as representatives of public claims.- Part II Actors: Civil society and NGOs in the postnational constellation.- 2. The postnational constellation: A broad conception of democracy.- 3. Normative orientation from political theory.- 4. Civil Society: Coming to grips with an elusive term.- 5. Insights from Part II.- Part III Institutions and processes: A normative framework for legitimate partner NGOs.- 6. The public sphere.- 7.Public reason.- 8. The political process.- 9. Legitimacy.- 10. Insights from Part III.- Part IV Drawing a typology for legitimate partner NGOs.- 11. NGOs, interest groups and activists.- 12. Substantive characteristics of legitimate partner NGOs.- 13. Structural characteristics of legitimate partner NGOs.- 14. Procedural characteristics of legitimate partner NGOs.- 15. Insights from Part IV.- 16. Concluding remarks: Normative guidelines for conceptualizing NGOs as legitimate partners of corporations and future implications.- Political-theoretical guidelines.- Rights and duties of legitimate partner NGOs.- Future implications.- Bibliography.- Index.