Conceptualizing Groups in un Multilateralism: The Diplomatic Practice of Group Politics

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 113-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Verlin Laatikainen
Keyword(s):  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
International Negotiation ◽  
Single Issue ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Individual Agency ◽  
Group Politics ◽  
Political Groups ◽  
Level Of Analysis

Political groups permeate the diplomatic process across the United Nations (un) system, from conference diplomacy to annual sessions of the deliberative bodies, yet they remain poorly understood and under-appreciated. This article approaches groups from a conceptual and theoretical perspective, providing a typology to differentiate clearly the various groups that are active in un processes, from electoral groups to regional organizations and single-issue coalitions. The article also examines how theories of multilateralism, global governance and international negotiation largely exclude group and inter-group dynamics. Theories of global governance and multilateralism operate at the systemic level of analysis, while theories of negotiation and coalitions reflect assumptions of individual agency; both levels of analysis obscure the operation of political groups and group politics in un multilateralism. The emerging theories of diplomatic practice provide a meso-level approach that reveals the pervasive practice of group politics and politicized diplomacy in un multilateralism.

The organizational ecology of global governance

2020 ◽  
pp. 135406612095940
Author(s):  
David A Lake
Keyword(s):  
Global Governance ◽  
Current System ◽  
World Order ◽  
Organizational Ecology ◽  
Intergovernmental Organizations ◽  
Private Governance ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
Key Innovations

The ecology of governance organizations (GOs) matters for what is or is not governed, what legitimate powers any governor may hold, and whose political preferences are instantiated in rules. The array of actors who comprise the current system of global governance has grown dramatically in recent decades. Especially notable has been the growth of private governance organizations (PGOs). Drawing on organizational ecology, I posit that the rise of PGOs is both required and facilitated by disagreements between states that block the creation of what might be otherwise effective intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). In a form of “double-negative regulation,” states block IGOs, which in turn leave open niches that are then filled by PGOs, which then both complement and sometimes substitute for state law. The organizational ecology approach outlined here extends and refocuses inquiry in systematic ways that give us a fuller understanding of how and why PGOs have emerged as one of the most striking features of the contemporary world order. The key innovations in this paper are to (a) shift the level of analysis from single agents or populations of agents to the entire field of GOs, including states, IGOs, and PGOs and (b) draw on principles of ecology to understand the composition and dynamics of systems of governance.

Creating Space for Public Administration in International Organization Studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Moloney ◽  
David H. Rosenbloom
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Due Process ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Representative Bureaucracy ◽  
Modern State ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Administrative Theory

The emergent global administrative order includes more than 800 international and regional organizations. Just as the rise of the modern state placed greater importance on the study of public administration, the growth of multistate organizations, their agendas, and personnel require research that draws upon contemporary and classical public administrative thought. This article employs multiple lenses to explore the utility of public administrative theory and empirically based knowledge in analyzing the behavior of international and regional organizations. Specifically, while remaining cognizant of differences between international organizations and sovereign states, we consider the utility of the politics–administration dichotomy, representative bureaucracy, individual and employee due process and other rights, and broader questions of accountability in understanding the administrative life and influence of international organizations in global governance.

scholarly journals Group Dynamics and Interplay in un Disarmament Forums: In Search of Consensus

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 158-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Dee
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Nuclear Weapon ◽  
Policy Entrepreneurship ◽  
Effective Functioning ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Political Groups

The elimination of nuclear weapons has been an objective of the United Nations (un) since 1946. Although addressed through multiple forums, including the un General Assembly’s First Committee, Conference on Disarmament and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the possession and renunciation of nuclear weapons nevertheless remains a topic beset by multilateral stalemate and frustration over the entrenchment of positions between nuclear- and non-nuclear weapon states. Yet within these forums, disarmament politics are taking a new turn, with the emergence of new, cross-regional, cross-factional political groups working alongside more established blocs. Focusing on these group dynamics, this article argues that the emergence of new political groups, and their interplay with others, is critical to the effective functioning of disarmament negotiations. Through cooperative information exchange, encouraging policy entrepreneurship and by challenging the rigidity of entrenched bloc positioning, these new group dynamics may make an important contribution in the search for consensus within the un.

Perversity in the Performative

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Weisband
Keyword(s):  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
The Unconscious ◽  
Central Focus ◽  
Explanatory Relevance ◽  
Mass Atrocity ◽  
Ebb And Flow

To study the staged performative transgressions of victims, sadistic cruelty borne by the desire on the part of perpetrators to witness the collective dying of victims, requires analytical orientations beyond those focused exclusively on motivations cast in rational or rationalizing, cognitive or purposive strategic terms. Performativity as a theoretical perspective establishes the explanatory relevance of the unconscious in appraising the dynamics of desire, shame, and sadistic cruelty among perpetrators. Various psychosocial perspectives may be adopted in this regard. Sadistic behaviors are not only cruel; they demand that the cruelty be displayed in the name of the laws of prohibition. Perpetrator behaviors in mass atrocity demonstrate the psychic elements of emotionality and fantasy, paranoia and obsession. Group dynamics in the macabresque ebb and flow in the subterranean tides of anxiety and psychic desire made manifest by reifications and sadistic hate, a central focus of study in the analysis of perpetrator performativity.

scholarly journals Working Together versus Working Autonomously: a New Power-Dependence Perspective on the Individual-Level of Analysis

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon B. de Jong
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Individual Performance ◽  
Task Interdependence ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
Power Dependence ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Task Autonomy ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
And Task

AbstractRecent studies have indicated that it is important to investigate the interaction between task interdependence and task autonomy because this interaction can affect team effectiveness. However, only a limited number of studies have been conducted and those studies focused solely on the team level of analysis. Moreover, there has also been a dearth of theoretical development. Therefore, this study develops and tests an alternative theoretical perspective in an attempt to understand if, and if so why, this interaction is important at the individual level of analysis. Based on interdependence theory and power-dependence theory, we expected that highly task-interdependent individuals who reported high task autonomy would be more powerful and better performers. In contrast, we expected that similarly high task-interdependent individuals who reported less task autonomy would be less powerful and would be weaker performers. These expectations were supported by multi-level and bootstrapping analyses performed on a multi-source dataset (self-, peer-, manager-ratings) comprised of 182 employees drawn from 37 teams. More specifically, the interaction between task interdependence and task autonomy was γ =.128, p <.05 for power and γ =.166, p <.05 for individual performance. The 95% bootstrap interval ranged from .0038 to .0686.

scholarly journals Bróderes in arms

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 648-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Rodgers
Keyword(s):  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Gang Violence ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Individual Agency ◽  
Socialization Processes ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Way

Drawing on longitudinal ethnographic research that has been ongoing since 1996, this article explores the way that gangs socialize individuals into violent norms and practices in Nicaragua. It shows how different types of gang violence can be related to distinct socialization processes and mechanisms, tracing how these dynamically articulate individual agency, group dynamics and contextual circumstances, albeit in ways that change over time. As such, the article highlights how gang socialization is not only a variable multilayered process, but also a very volatile one, which suggests that the socialization of violence and its consequences are not necessarily enduring.

scholarly journals The Meso-World: Tiny Publics and Political Action

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 10-24
Author(s):  
Gary Alan Fine
Keyword(s):  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Civic Life ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Symbolic Interactionist ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Interaction Order ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Level Of Analysis

In recent decades, sociologists have too often ignored the group level—the meso-level of analysis—in their emphasis on either the individual or the institution. This unfortunate absence misses much of what is central to a sociological analysis of community based on “action.” I draw upon Erving Goffman’s (1983) concept of the interaction order as I argue that a rigorous political sociology requires a focus on group cultures and tiny publics. Group dynamics, idiocultures, and interaction routines are central in creating social order. This approach to civic life draws from the pragmatism of John Dewey, as well as the broad tradition of symbolic interactionist theorists. Ultimately, I argue that a commitment to local action constitutes a commitment to a more extended social system.

scholarly journals Racialized Burdens: Applying Racialized Organization Theory to the Administrative State

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Erik Ray ◽  
Pamela Herd ◽  
Donald Moynihan
Keyword(s):  
Organization Theory ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
Individual Agency ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us

Administrative burdens allow a form of hidden politics to shape people’s experience of the state. But what do those politics hide? In this paper we seek to partly answer this question by developing the concept of racialized burdens. Racialized burdens are the experience of learning, compliance and psychological costs, which serve as tools to reinforce racial inequality; they are the handmaidens of the racialized state. To develop this concept, we examine the role of administrative burdens in the US state from the theoretical perspective of racialized organizations. This framework puts the focus on the effects of organizations on individuals, rather than using individual agency – of the client, or bureaucrat – as the starting point for analysis. Using examples from attempts to access citizenship rights – via immigration, voting and the social safety net – we show how burdens have historically been used to normalize and facilitate racially disparate outcomes from public organizations that promise fair and equal treatment.

Policy Networks in Britain

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. W. Rhodes
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Policy Networks ◽  
Analysis Group ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Industry Relations ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
The Eu

In an assessment of the distinctive British contribution to the study of policy networks, the chapter reviews, first, the micro-level of analysis: group dynamics, and social network analysis. Second, it examines the meso-level of analysis: interorganizational analysis, subgovernments, and intergovernmental relations. Third, it looks at the macro-level of analysis: political economy, and neo-pluralism. It assesses the British contributions looking at the Rhodes model, the ESRC’s government–industry relations initiative. The chapter suggests that we disaggregate and explore subsectoral variations, extend the analysis to the EU, and provide more case studies of networks ‘in action’. The article was written in 1990. The Afterword reflects on the success of the concept, which has become the standard fare of textbooks.

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