Normative Principles

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Zürn
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
International Society ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
First Century ◽  
Rational Reconstruction ◽  
Governance System ◽  
The Third ◽  
International Authority ◽  
Political Communities

The global governance system rests on three normative principles, each of which qualifies the Westphalian principle of sovereignty. The first questions the implicit notion that all political communities are territorially segmented by highlighting the notion of common goods that need to be achieved together. The second questions the idea that political authorities are absolute by noting the rights of individuals and entitlements of non-state actors that they have independent of being members of a state. The third principle questions the notion that there are no authorities other than the state by mooting the possibility of international authority. This chapter discusses these normative principles and their “empirical appropriateness.” In using the method of rational reconstruction, it is shown that the assumptions of a global governance system seem to be better suited to understand world politics in the twenty-first century than the notion of an anarchic international system or an international society.

A Theory of Global Governance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Zürn
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Political System ◽  
Institutional Structure ◽  
World Politics ◽  
First Century ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Current Crisis ◽  
Causal Mechanisms

This book offers a major new theory of global governance, explaining both its rise and what many see as its current crisis. The author suggests that world politics is now embedded in a normative and institutional structure dominated by hierarchies and power inequalities and therefore inherently creates contestation, resistance, and distributional struggles. Within an ambitious and systematic new conceptual framework, the theory makes four key contributions. First, it reconstructs global governance as a political system which builds on normative principles and reflexive authorities. Second, it identifies the central legitimation problems of the global governance system with a constitutionalist setting in mind. Third, it explains the rise of state and societal contestation by identifying key endogenous dynamics and probing the causal mechanisms that produced them. Finally, it identifies the conditions under which struggles in the global governance system lead to decline or deepening. Rich with propositions, insights, and evidence, the book promises to be the most important and comprehensive theoretical argument about world politics of the twenty-first century.

Legitimation Problems

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Zürn
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Social Purpose ◽  
International Authority ◽  
Legitimacy Beliefs

Political and epistemic authorities in the global governance system often restrain the freedom of constituent members and therefore need to be justified with reference to the impartial pursuit of a shared social purpose. An international authority must therefore develop a convincing legitimation narrative and display a sense of impartiality to be seen as legitimate. The thrust of the argument in this chapter is that the legitimacy of the global governance system is structurally precarious. Two legitimation problems can be identified: a technocratic bias in the justification of authority and the lack of impartiality in the exercise of authority. International institutions often have authority, but lack sufficient legitimacy beliefs.

scholarly journals The hierarchical society: the politics of self-determination and the constitution of new states after 1919

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 372-396
Author(s):  
Maja Spanu
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Society ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
World War ◽  
New States ◽  
History Of

International Relations scholarship disconnects the history of the so-called expansion of international society from the presence of hierarchies within it. In contrast, this article argues that these developments may in fact be premised on hierarchical arrangements whereby new states are subject to international tutelage as the price of acceptance to international society. It shows that hierarchies within international society are deeply entrenched with the politics of self-determination as international society expands. I substantiate this argument with primary and secondary material on the Minority Treaty provisions imposed on the new states in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe admitted to the League of Nations after World War I. The implications of this claim for International Relations scholarship are twofold. First, my argument contributes to debates on the making of the international system of states by showing that the process of expansion of international society is premised on hierarchy, among and within states. Second, it speaks to the growing body of scholarship on hierarchy in world politics by historicising where hierarchies come from, examining how diverse hierarchies are nested and intersect, and revealing how different actors navigate these hierarchies.

Governing Complexity: Design Principles for the Governance of Complex Global Catastrophic Risks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Kreienkamp ◽  
Tom Pegram
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Design Science ◽  
Design Principles ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Rigorous Research ◽  
Catastrophic Risks ◽  
Action Taking

Abstract Why are existing global governance structures “not fit for purpose” when it comes to addressing complex global catastrophic risks (CGCRs) such as climate breakdown, ecosystem collapse, or parasitic artificial general intelligence? This article argues that a deeper appreciation of these risks as complex—as opposed to complicated—is vital to an effective global governance response. It joins other IR scholarship seeking to invigorate a rigorous research agenda on complex system dynamics within world politics, highlighting the value of complexity theory, not simply as a contextual descriptor, but as a conceptual toolkit to inform CGCR governance research and action. Taking seriously the implications of “restricted complexity,” it interrogates why the legacy governing toolkit—the assumptions, heuristics, models, and practices conventionally employed to solve international collective action problems—are unlikely to suffice. It further draws laterally upon design science to offer a novel design model for governing complex systems, with broad application across global policy domains. A case study of the COVID-19 pandemic response illustrates the importance of supplementing inherited “complicated” governance system design and practices with design principles explicitly oriented to working with complexity, rather than against it. We contend that IR scholars and practitioners must update old ways of thinking in light of a complexification of the discipline. Such a shift involves both revisiting the design logics underlying how we build global governance structures, as well as pursuing a generative research agenda more capable of responding adequately to instability, surprise, and extraordinary change.

scholarly journals The Emergence of a Transnational Advocacy Network: International Election Monitoring in the Philippines, Chile, Nicaragua, and Mexico

2004 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arturo Santa Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
International System ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
World Politics ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
Transnational Advocacy ◽  
Norm Diffusion ◽  
The Third ◽  
Advocacy Network ◽  
Election Monitoring

In this paper I question the existence of a global civil society, suggesting that what we have witnessed in recent years is the emergence of myriad transnational advocacy networks (TANs). I illustrate this claim by looking at a recently novel area in world politics: the international monitoring of elections (IEM), a practice which I claim has partially redefined state sovereignty. This paper takes form as follows. In the first section I present a conceptual discussion on world civil society and TANS , and suggest an unexplored way in which emergent norms might be adopted internationally. In the next four sections I follow the evolution of the IEM TAN. Thus, the second section deals with the foundational 1986 Philippine case; the third section with the 1988 Chilean plebiscite; the fourth with the 1990 Nicaraguan elections, and the fifth with the 1994 Mexican electoral process. I conclude in the sixth section by evaluating the usefulness of the path of norm-diffusion, and by discussing how the practice of non-state actors has contributed to the redefinition of both state sovereignty and the international system.

The legitimation of international organisations: examining the identity of the communities that grant legitimacy

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 2557-2583 ◽  
Author(s):  
JONATHAN SYMONS
Keyword(s):  
Social Control ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Society ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
Five Factors ◽  
Political Communities ◽  
Political Realm

Abstract‘Legitimacy’ is commonly cited as one of three fundamental mechanisms of social control within both domestic politics and international society. However, despite growing attention to the legitimacy of global governance, little consideration has been given to the identity of the political communities that must grant legitimacy to an international organisation or to the conditions under which legitimacy is valuable for the functioning of that organisation. In raising and responding to these questions, this article rejects the argument that actors must gain legitimacy among all subject social constituencies within their political realm of action. Instead, the importance of legitimacy within a particular constituency is a variable. The article labels this variable a ‘legitimacy nexus’ and outlines five factors that are hypothesised to contribute to calibrating a legitimacy nexus. The plausibility of the proposed schema is explored through discussion of the role of legitimacy in the trade regime and analysis of the origins of the International Labour Organization's anomalous tripartite representative structure.

scholarly journals Self-Determination Between the Challenges of Diversity and Liberal peace Dictates

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria João Barata
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
International Politics ◽  
International System ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
General Level ◽  
Liberal Peace ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Critical Approaches ◽  
Political Communities

Self-determination is a crucial concept in establishing the legitimacy of political communities in the international system, and thereby in constructing social identities and political loyalties. At the most general level, self-determination refers to an idea of a right to freedom. In international politics, it also refers to a norm on ways of bounding political communities. At the same time, what the self-determination precisely means is contested and contingent. I argue that self-determination envolves today amidst a tension between the challenges of diversity and liberal peace dictates. While diversity has to do with varieties of cultural expression, socioeconomic organization and political status, liberal peace dictates concern global governance practices that tend to impose previous liberal models of democracy, development and human rights. The essay first presents the evolution of the meaning of self-determination in international politics. Then it addresses critical approaches upon contemporary leberal peace. The remaining sections analyze how contemporary self-determination movements present claims highly suggestive to rethink forms of political community, of state-community relation, and of participation in global governance structures.Keywords: Self-determination, Liberal Peace, Diversity, Development. 

The Politicization of Authority beyond the Nation State

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Zürn
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
World Politics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Societal Actors ◽  
The One

This chapter argues that the notion of international cooperation as a purely executive, legal, or technocratic matter misses some decisive features of world politics today. International institutions are seen not only by political, but also by societal actors as political institutions exercising public authority requiring legitimacy. Two broad claims are tested. According to the first, the politicization of international institutions can be ascribed to the patterns of authority in the global governance system. The more political authority international institutions exercise, the more attention they attract, the more actors participate in debates and the more polarization in opinions takes place. The second broad claim is that politicization is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it leads to a broadening of legitimation efforts including participatory and fairness-based narratives. On the other hand, politicization may also lead to a significant legitimacy gap that can undermine the authorities as a whole.

BRICS Countries’ Role in Global Governance System Modifying

10.12737/624 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-31
Author(s):  
Зеленева ◽  
I. Zeleneva
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
International System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Global Leadership ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Regional Powers ◽  
Global Management ◽  
Brics Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
The Republic

In the conditions of accruing civilization crisis a need of reforming of modern international system, global leadership and global management is becoming apparent. The ascending giant countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and the Republic of South Africa), becoming the new geopolitical centers of the world, became a new force in world politics. The author believes that BRICS as global association of regional powers is capable to reform the global management system.

scholarly journals On the role of contestations, the power of reflexive authority, and legitimation problems in the global political system

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Michael Zürn
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Political System ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Political Opportunity ◽  
Loosely Coupled ◽  
International Authority ◽  
High Level

Abstract This response to my critics discusses four claims that are central for A Theory of Global Governance. The first claim is that observing a high level of conflict and contestation in world politics is not proof of the unimportance of global governance, since many of the current conflicts and contestations are about international institutions. The second claim is that the 1990s saw a rise of trans- and international authority beyond the nation-state that is essential for the rise of a global political system. Third, a global system of loosely coupled spheres of authority relies on ‘critical deference’ (reflexive authority) but also contains numerous elements of coercion. And fourth, a technocratic legitimation of intrusive international authorities cannot build on emotions or a sense of belonging. This deficit creates a political opportunity structure that allows for the rise of a myriad of dissenters. The relative importance of them depends on the availability of resources for mobilization and not on the quality of reasons for resistance.

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