Call for Papers: Global Governance as Public Authority: Structures, Contestation, and Normative Change

The Hertie School of Governance has issued a call for papers for a workshop on "Global Governance as Public Authority: Structures, Contestation, and Normative Change," to be held on April 15-16, 2010, in Berlin. Here's the call:

Call for Papers

Global Governance as Public Authority: Structures, Contestation, and Normative Change

Berlin, 15 & 16 April 2011

Global governance has gained increasing importance in politics, law, and other realms of public order. This is reflected in the growing contestation over global issues among governments, NGOs, and other domestic and trans-national institutions. Much of this contestation draws its force from conceptual analogies with ‘traditional rule’: it assumes that institutions of global governance exercise public authority in a similar way as domestic government and reclaims central norms of domestic political tradition, such as democracy and the rule of law, in the global context. Scrutinising this assumption, the workshop aims to shed light on the processes that underpin change in global governance. What is the content of new normative claims? Which continuities and discontinuities with domestic traditions characterise global governance? How responsive are domestic structures to global governance? How is global governance anchored in societies? And which challenges arise from the autonomy demands of national (and sometimes other) communities?

We invite contributions on the broader theme of public authority in global governance and encourage in particular submissions on the three sub-topics outlined below. The workshop will gather 20-25 scholars from different disciplines for an in-depth debate on the proposed topics. We will be happy to receive proposals from scholars at any level – PhD students at an advanced stage, postdoctoral and more senior researchers alike. Travel and accommodation allowances of €200-400 will be provided (depending on travel distance and actual expenses).

Keynote speaker: Andrew Hurrell (University of Oxford)

Chairs and Discussants include: Markus Jachtenfuchs, Nico Krisch & Eva G. Heidbreder (HSoG, Berlin), Sabine Saurugger (IEP Grenoble), Michael Zürn (WZB Berlin).

Organisers: Nico Krisch, Eva Heidbreder, Markus Jachtenfuchs

Panels

1. The Normative Framework of Global Public Authority: Continuities and Discontinuities

Normative claims about international institutions classically took a form quite distinct from domestic political traditions. They focused on sovereign equality, the limits of delegatory relationships, and protection from overreach. With the intensification of global governance, the two-level image underlying these claims has been eroded, and realisation of the more independent and direct force of many processes of global governance has grown. In response, normative claims have shifted, and they often have recourse to domestic concepts of legitimate government. In this panel, we ask: how far has this shift gone? How similar and dissimilar are conceptions of legitimate government in the domestic and global contexts? Which paradigms are emerging, which are being buried? To what extent have they found a legal form? What are the main lines of contestation?

2. Autonomy-preserving Global Governance: Tensions between National Sovereignty and International Problem-Solving

The debate on global governance usually depicts the creation of strong international institutions as progress because they promise to increase the problem-solving capacity of national governments. However, global governance institutions face increasing legitimacy problems as they also trigger growing politicisation and resistance; they are are increasingly seen as interfering too much into domestic policy choices. This reveals a fundamental dilemma: strengthening or even ‘constitutionalising’ international institutions may increase their problem-solving capacity but exacerbate legitimacy concerns and protest. At the same time, defending national sovereignty reduces national problem-solving capacity, which is at odds with the normative goal of effective (and not merely formal) self-determination. Against this backdrop, the guiding question is how global or regional governance arrangements cope with the tension between international problem-solving and national policy autonomy. Which rules are used to maximize one or the other? Which balance is struck between both goals? Which conflicts emerge, and what are their consequences?

3. The Public Administration of Global Governance: National Bureaucracies and International Rule

Public administrations are the backbone of democratic governance. Bureaucracies are central players both in the formulation and implementation of policies. Despite the raising awareness of global policy challenges and global governance responses, bureaucracies themselves remain deeply rooted in state structures. The session invites work that focuses on how public administrations adapt to and function under conditions of global governance. Relevant questions include the internal organisation of public administrations, the networks by which bureaucracies feed into policy decisions outside their narrower national context and innovations in policy instruments to implement policies that have been designed outside the legal realm of the state, as well as questions about normative and accountability issues implied by a trend toward increasing global governance.

Paper Application

Abstracts (max 300 words) to heidbreder@hertie-school.org till 15 December 2010

Final Paper submission due by 1 April 2011

Workshop Date and Venue

15 & 16 April 2011

Hertie School of Governance, Berlin

Organisers

Global Governance Group

Hertie School of Governance

Friedrichstr. 18010117 Berlin

Germany

Tel.: +49 (0)30 - 259 219 - 334

Fax: +49 (0)30 - 259 219 -111