Search Results

America and Security Sponsorship

Simon Reich and Richard Ned Lebow

in Good-Bye Hegemony!: Power and Influence in the Global System

This chapter draws on a conceptual and empirical analysis to rethink America's posthegemonic role in the world. While guided by self-interest, the chapter contends that the United States should ... More

This chapter draws on a conceptual and empirical analysis to rethink America's posthegemonic role in the world. While guided by self-interest, the chapter contends that the United States should pursue a strategy that helps to implement policies that are widely supported and are often mooted or initiated by others. It should generally refrain from attempting to set the agenda and lead in a traditional realist or liberal sense. Drawing on Simon Reich's work on global norms, the chapter looks at the success Washington has had in sponsoring—that is, in backing—initiatives originating elsewhere. It examines the successful provision of military assistance to NATO's campaign in Libya, which offers a stark contrast to the U.S. approach to Iraq. The chapter then offers counterfactual cases of U.S. drug policy in Mexico and efforts to keep North Korea from going nuclear.Less

The Hardest Part: Creating a Right of Secession

Timothy William Waters

in Boxing Pandora: Rethinking Borders, States, and Secession in a Democratic World

This chapter explores strategies to achieve acceptance of a right to secede, whether as a legal rule or as a model for individual states. Secession is a hard sell, and the principal battleground is ... More

This chapter explores strategies to achieve acceptance of a right to secede, whether as a legal rule or as a model for individual states. Secession is a hard sell, and the principal battleground is moral and political. A shift in attitudes must precede the legal project; only then will people see doctrinal arguments lining up and making sense. And, after all, the goal is not a new legal right for its own sake, but a change in how societies and states behave. The chapter then considers why a formal right of secession is implausible, and what that implies about the best strategies to adopt—the narrow but real possibilities that exist. The path is indirect: It relies on transnational diffusion of norms, and for this people can draw lessons from once-improbable projects that have become orthodoxies, such as decolonization and human rights; also, recent secession attempts suggest that constitutional projects could serve as models. The path leads through many small changes, rather than a single, quixotic swerve toward a new legal rule. But because the existing global norm limits the ability to create change within states, people cannot abandon the idea of a new rule: Advocates of secession need a point of triangulation outside the state to advance their cause, and that point will be found in international law.Less

Global Cities, Global Workers, Global Unions

Adelyn Lim

in Transnational Feminism and Women's Movements In Post-1997 Hong Kong: Solidarity Beyond the State

This chapter focuses on local and migrant domestic workers' unions in Hong Kong, in the context of the international domestic workers' movement for the International Labor Organization Convention No. ... More

This chapter focuses on local and migrant domestic workers' unions in Hong Kong, in the context of the international domestic workers' movement for the International Labor Organization Convention No. 189 on Decent Work for Domestic Workers. Global norms are providing collective action frames that facilitate cohesive activism, as well as international opportunities, symbolic and material resources, and publicity to pressure governments and corporations. In Hong Kong, domestic workers' unions are an amalgamation of a women's movement and a trade union that goes beyond the organizing of women or workers, but incorporating the frames of democracy, human rights, and social justice locally and internationally. Transnational organizing, on the basis of common social location and interests as women and workers under global capitalism, allows local and migrant domestic workers to envision and enact solidarity. But it is also this interaction that hierarchies of class, gender, ethnicity, and nationality become visible, illustrating that privilege and oppression are often not absolute categories but, rather, shift in relation to different axes of power.Less

Global Norms and Military Effectiveness: The Army in Early Twentieth-Century Ireland

Theo Farrell

in Creating Military Power: The Sources of Military Effectiveness

This chapter describes what global norms are and how they come to shape national military behavior. It examines the effect of global norms on military effectiveness through a case study of the army ... More

This chapter describes what global norms are and how they come to shape national military behavior. It examines the effect of global norms on military effectiveness through a case study of the army in early twentieth-century Ireland. It specifically concentrates on the effect of norms of conventional warfare on the activities and effectiveness of the Irish Army. In this case, military integration suffered due to weapons procurement that could not keep pace with the army's ambitious doctrine and training aspirations. Foreign-trained Irish officers have promoted norms of conventional warfare in the Irish Army and reinforced through the army's own training programs. The Irish state was placed in risk due to the impact of norms of conventional warfare on the Irish Army.Less

Regulatory Issues and Challenges: Global Norms and Religious Constraints

Ibrahim Warde

in Islamic Finance in the Global Economy

This chapter discusses regulatory issues and challenges posed by the global norms and religious constraints on Islamic banking. In the early years of the modern Islamic banking, ambitious regulatory ... More

This chapter discusses regulatory issues and challenges posed by the global norms and religious constraints on Islamic banking. In the early years of the modern Islamic banking, ambitious regulatory schemes were devised. There was talk of an Islamic Central bank, of a global zakat fund and of other collaborative schemes. Most of these ideas were never put to practice, as they were overtaken by events. When the era of deregulation emerged, national regulators lost their margin of manoeuvre to the norms and practices of the financial regulation that was established internationally. While Islamic banks have thrived in the global economy, their compliance with many of the new norms has sometimes been problematic. Increasingly, however, in recent years, and in particular since the creation in 2002 of the IFSB, Islamic regulators have been coordinating their policies with other international financial regulators.Less

Do Global Norms Matter?

Himanshu Jha

in Capturing Institutional Change: The Case of the Right to Information Act in India

This chapter examines the role of global norms in institutional change. The nature and extent of the impact of global norm diffusion on the domestic discourse is traced in this chapter. The ... More

This chapter examines the role of global norms in institutional change. The nature and extent of the impact of global norm diffusion on the domestic discourse is traced in this chapter. The global–national processes around global norms on transparency, accountability, and access to information are spread over two phases outlined in this manuscript. This chapter shows that while the transparency norms evolved endogenously, they benefitted from the demonstration effect of international norms. At the same time the endogenous movement of ideas played a substantial role in localizing the global norms. Norm diffusion in this case was not part of the coercive conditionalities of multilateral agencies; it was adapted in conjunction with the ideational churning at the national level.Less

Punishing for Humanity: The Sentencing Legacy of the ICTY

Margaret M. deGuzman

in Legacies of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia: A Multidisciplinary Approach

In determining sentences, the ICTY chose to develop global norms rather than adhere to, or even be strongly guided by, the sentencing norms of the former Yugoslavia. Although the ICTY Statute ... More

In determining sentences, the ICTY chose to develop global norms rather than adhere to, or even be strongly guided by, the sentencing norms of the former Yugoslavia. Although the ICTY Statute required the judges to consult national practices in determining sentences, they interpreted this requirement loosely, reserving to themselves a wide discretion that enabled them to identify a range of global sentencing objectives and factors to apply in pursuit of those objectives. The global norms the ICTY developed included norms rejecting harsh punishment, applying consequentialist punishment rationales, privileging gravity as the central sentencing factor, and endorsing broad judicial sentencing discretion. In developing these norms, the ICTY helped to build a foundation that other international courts, and perhaps some national courts, are likely to rely on for the foreseeable future.Less

American Courts, Global Norms

Martin S. Flaherty

in Restoring the Global Judiciary: Why the Supreme Court Should Rule in U.S. Foreign Affairs

This chapter considers a phenomenon that has consistently been among the most contentious of modern legal controversies—the application by American courts of international human rights. Recent years ... More

This chapter considers a phenomenon that has consistently been among the most contentious of modern legal controversies—the application by American courts of international human rights. Recent years have witnessed high-profile conflicts over international human rights law. One major battle involves whether, when, and how U.S. courts should recognize rights set out in the nation's treaty obligations. Another heated area of contention has arisen under an act of Congress, the Alien Tort Statute. Perhaps most heated of all have been debates over the use of foreign legal materials, including customary international law, to interpret the Constitution of the United States. In these areas as well, the Supreme Court, and the judiciary generally, has wavered. Yet once more, a fresh appreciation of the principles the Founders entrenched, the subsequent custom that on balance confirms that original vision, and the consequences of the way nations interact in a globalized age—all these imperatives point away from the path that the judiciary appears more and more to be considering, and back to the course first established.Less

Addressing Global ImbalancesDomestic and Global Dynamics

Andrew Walter

in China Across the Divide: The Domestic and Global in Politics and Society

China’s contribution to global payments imbalances poses a significant challenge to claims by the Chinese leadership that its policies are consistent with global economic and political stability, as ... More

China’s contribution to global payments imbalances poses a significant challenge to claims by the Chinese leadership that its policies are consistent with global economic and political stability, as well as to arguments that China’s foreign policy stance has been broadly convergent with global norms, rules and standards. Since this inconsistency has become increasingly costly for China, it requires explanation. The chapter argues that standard accounts of China’s foreign economic policy choices do not explain this well and that, instead, its choices have been shaped by a complex and evolving dynamic between the leadership and two different audiences, domestic and external. Both these audiences have influenced Chinese policymaking to a greater degree over time, increasing the difficulty of responding effectively to the imbalances problem.Less

When the saints come marching in

Harry Blutstein

in The Ascent of Globalisation

Reverend Leon Sullivan created one of the first global programmes that encouraged transnational firms to accept that they had social responsibilities beyond just making profits. Harnessing public ... More

Reverend Leon Sullivan created one of the first global programmes that encouraged transnational firms to accept that they had social responsibilities beyond just making profits. Harnessing public opinion, he convinced leading companies operating in South Africa to desegregate their workplaces and challenge apartheid. This campaign set a model of others, who believed that firms have a responsibility to not only ‘do not harm,’ but to contribute to making ‘the world a better place.’ Since the 1980s, the number of global corporate social responsibility programmes (CSR) has grown, although many have fallen short of their commitments and disappointed the expectations of the public. Nevertheless, the codes and standards associated with CSR programmes have created a body of non-legal norms, which have become an important feature of global governance.Less

National and International Drivers of the Spread of Social Cash Transfers

Lutz Leisering

in The Global Rise of Social Cash Transfers: How States and International Organizations Constructed a New Instrument for Combating Poverty

This chapter seeks to explain the remarkable spread of social cash transfer programmes in the countries of the global South. General explanatory models of social policy development are discussed, and ... More

This chapter seeks to explain the remarkable spread of social cash transfer programmes in the countries of the global South. General explanatory models of social policy development are discussed, and then specified and tested for social pensions, using multivariate quantitative analysis (event history analysis, 1971–2011). Theories familiar from explaining the historical rise of Northern welfare states have to be modified and extended to accommodate development contexts. Three major groups of drivers of the spread of social pensions are found: socio-economic modernization and political regime type; global norms; and pension reform events. By way of qualitative analysis, three mechanisms are identified, by which global ideas and norms influence domestic policies: cultural linkages, theorization, and quantification. These mechanisms also help to explain the diffusion of new ideas within transnational communities and within domestic political arenas.Less

Global Adjudicative Authority

Margaret M. deGuzman

in Shocking the Conscience of Humanity: Gravity and the Legitimacy of International Criminal Law

This chapter examines the relationship between gravity and global adjudicative authority—the global community’s right to create adjudicative institutions, and for those institutions to adjudicate ... More

This chapter examines the relationship between gravity and global adjudicative authority—the global community’s right to create adjudicative institutions, and for those institutions to adjudicate crimes. It argues that such authority is justified when two conditions are met: first, there must be a globally shared norm proscribing the conduct and subjecting violators to criminal sanction; and, second, the global community’s adjudicative goals must be sufficiently important to outweigh any countervailing goals, particularly those of relevant national communities. Additionally, to best promote the regime’s legitimacy, the situations and cases adjudicated must be those that achieve the global community’s most important goals most efficiently. The chapter proposes a reconceptualization of gravity to help ensure these conditions are met.Less

Sentencing

Margaret M. deGuzman

in Shocking the Conscience of Humanity: Gravity and the Legitimacy of International Criminal Law

Gravity is a central concept—often the central concept—that international criminal courts invoke in justifying sentencing decisions. This chapter shows that international sentencing decisions ... More

Gravity is a central concept—often the central concept—that international criminal courts invoke in justifying sentencing decisions. This chapter shows that international sentencing decisions frequently invoke gravity in inconsistent and unexplained ways, thereby detracting from the legitimacy of such decisions. It argues that gravity as a sentencing criterion at international courts ought to be conceptualized in relation to the goals of punishment that are most appropriate for those institutions. It proposes a utilitarian theory of global sentencing that centers crime prevention, especially through deterrence and norm expression, and rejects retribution and harsh punishment. The goal should be to achieve the most deterrence and expressive prevention possible at the lowest cost.Less

Social Rights and Social Standards in Cross-Border Migration

Thomas Faist

in The Transnationalized Social Question: Migration and the Politics of Social Inequalities in the Twenty-First Century

Examining social protection in the context of migration is particularly important because it links the disparate, fragmented social spaces of unequal life chances and social protection across the ... More

Examining social protection in the context of migration is particularly important because it links the disparate, fragmented social spaces of unequal life chances and social protection across the world. We need to analyse how social protection has been organized across borders with special consideration of migrants and their dependents. This includes a description of the assemblages of social protection, encompassing programmes by the state and civil society organizations, but also social protection in kinship groups. It also concerns the issue of how to conceptualize social protection with respect to human rights. Most importantly, an understanding of the current status of cross-border social protection has to address the elements of global governance and existing transnational social standards in the realm of migration. While these norms mostly concern soft law, they are important elements in the political struggles around rights for both migrant labour and workers affected by the mobility of capital.Less

Some Aspects of the Architecture of International Tax Reform (and Their Human Rights–Related Consequences)

Michael Lennard

in Tax, Inequality, and Human Rights

This chapter looks at how the international tax norm-setting mechanism may positively or negatively affect attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals and the achievement of human rights. It is ... More

This chapter looks at how the international tax norm-setting mechanism may positively or negatively affect attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals and the achievement of human rights. It is important to recognize that there is a great deal of concern expressed by many developing countries about their lack of real participation in the development of what are being promoted as global tax norms or standards. The OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project has brought some of these issues to the forefront. Nevertheless, there is much that is useful to developing countries in the BEPS outcomes, especially in combatting what is commonly regarded by both developing and developed countries as tax avoidance or evasion, such as through international profit-shifting.Less

Balancing Competing Interests and Values: Drone Strikes as National Policy but International Crime?

Ramesh Thakur

in The Global Community Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence 2015

“The national interest” is of questionable utility either as an analytic concept or as a guide to policy. It is neither “national,” with multiple entities that have their own sectoral or sectarian ... More

“The national interest” is of questionable utility either as an analytic concept or as a guide to policy. It is neither “national,” with multiple entities that have their own sectoral or sectarian interests as well as many domestic and international nonstate actors who also have interests; nor “interest” in the singular but rather several interests in the plural, with some in competition and conflict; nor, as a result, “the.” “A balance of interests” is a more accurate empirical descriptor and analytical construct that also incorporates human agency and fallibility. Its superiority is especially relevant to international criminal justice, where state and nonstate actors alike have to balance several competing interests at play, choose between competing values, and also choose between material interests and principles, and values.Less

Conclusion

Himanshu Jha

in Capturing Institutional Change: The Case of the Right to Information Act in India

This chapter draws upon the evidence presented in the book and provides four broad conceptual points. First, it argues that the institutional change is a result of an incremental, slow-moving process ... More

This chapter draws upon the evidence presented in the book and provides four broad conceptual points. First, it argues that the institutional change is a result of an incremental, slow-moving process of ‘ideas’ emerging endogenously from within the state resulting in a ‘tipping point’. Second, it points towards the role of ideas within the state. Third, it shows the complementarity of the State and society and stresses on the significance of an epistemic network. Fourth, the influence of global norms is acknowledged but needs to be seen in conjunction with the endogenous socio-political processes at the domestic level. These arguments tie the chapters together conceptually and provide a roadmap for future research on the subject.Less

Peripheral Assent

in The Cuban Cure: Reason and Resistance in Global Science

This chapter examines the growth of the biotechnology sector in Cuba. It explores Cuba's various attempts to define its biotechnology and its efforts to maintain a space for that science amid a ... More

This chapter examines the growth of the biotechnology sector in Cuba. It explores Cuba's various attempts to define its biotechnology and its efforts to maintain a space for that science amid a rather differently couched global pharmaceutical norm. It mentions that the Center for Molecular Immunology's (CIM) TheraCIM drug was granted a U.S. patent in 1999 and an in-depth article on the CIM–York Medical partnership was featured in the July 2000 issue of Journal of the National Cancer Institute.Less

Conclusion: Big or Small

Luke Patey

in How China Loses: The Pushback against Chinese Global Ambitions

The world cannot afford for China to lose. Arguments can be made on whether or not China’s leaders will realize their global ambitions, but the direction of Chinese politics and economy will largely ... More

The world cannot afford for China to lose. Arguments can be made on whether or not China’s leaders will realize their global ambitions, but the direction of Chinese politics and economy will largely dictate whether global challenges, from fighting climate change to global pandemics, can be overcome. Overreaction to China’s assertive foreign policy must be avoided, as too must naïveté toward China’s global ambitions. China’s actions during the beginning of the twenty-first century present lessons for countries around the world to manage their relations with Beijing, but a collective and sustained response is paramount. The world does not require American or Chinese leadership to give it order. Common economic interests and political values exist between Asian and Western countries. Middle powers and small states will not simply follow the dictates of Washington or Beijing, but will instead blend, package, and resist big power pressures in pursuit of their own ambitions.Less