Puig: Network Analysis and the Sociology of International Law

Sergio Puig (Univ. of Arizona - Law) has posted Network Analysis and the Sociology of International Law (in Research Handbook on the Sociology of International Law, A. Lang & M. Hirsch eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Social scientists, including economists, sociologists, and anthropologists, have relied for decades on tools derived from network analysis. These tools, and key findings obtained through their application, are only beginning to be applied to the study of law and legal institutions, including international law. In this contribution, I briefly explain the origins, basic premises, and operation of network analysis, as well as its possible application to specific international legal fields. I briefly revisit its application to international arbitration and discuss the main limitations of this methodological approach to understanding the role of social dynamics in international law’s making, interpretation, and enforcement. While optimistic about the growing use of this research strategy for uncovering the sociology of international law, I argue that we should also be cautious of the normative and explanatory conclusions derived from the application of network analysis. In particular, network analysis’s application may be problematic if detached from careful understanding of the specific contexts in which legal institutions operate.

Cullen, Harrington, & Renshaw: Experts, Networks and International Law

Holly Cullen (Univ. of Western Australia - Law), Joanna Harrington (Univ. of Alberta - Law), Catherine Renshaw (Australian Catholic Univ. - Law) have published Experts, Networks and International Law (Cambridge Univ. Press 2017). Contents include:

• Anne Orford, Preface
• Holly Cullen, Joanna Harrington & Catherine Renshaw, Experts, networks and international law
• Suzanne Akila, Networks of protection
• Pammela Quinn Saunders, Advancing the conversation: non-judicial voices and the transnational judicial dialogue
• Philipp Kastner, International peace mediators: the normative involvement of an epistemic community
• Josephine Toop, Multilateral environmental agreements and regional fisheries management organisations: experts, networks and global administrative law principles
• Cameron S. G. Jefferies, Institutional expertise: reconsidering the role of scientific experts in the international conservation and management of cetaceans
• Tahnee Prior, Engaging complexity: legalising international arctic environmental governance
• Hitomi Kimura, Environmental government networks with Asian examples
• Cecily Rose, Non-binding instruments and democratic accountability
• Kei Nakajima, Traditional and modern designs for an international law of sovereign debt restructuring: a way forward
• Masahiro Kurosaki, The fight against impunity for core international crimes: reflections on the contribution of networked experts to a regime of aggravated state responsibility

Aust: Das Recht der globalen Stadt

Helmut Philipp Aust (Freie Universität Berlin - Law) has published Das Recht der globalen Stadt: Grenzüberschreitende Dimensionen kommunaler Selbstverwaltung (Mohr Siebeck 2017). Here's the abstract:

In einer Zeit rapider Urbanisierung werden Städte und Gemeinden zunehmend zu international relevanten Akteuren. Ob in Fragen der nachhaltigen Entwicklung und des Klimaschutzes, der Gewährleistung von Sicherheit oder zur Durchsetzung von Menschenrechten: Städte und Gemeinden haben zahlreiche internationale Netzwerke gegründet, kooperieren mit internationalen Organisationen und verschreiben sich der Durchsetzung völkerrechtlicher Normen. Helmut Philipp Aust untersucht diese Entwicklung und ordnet sie in die verfassungs- und verwaltungsrechtlichen Zusammenhänge ebenso ein wie in die völker- und europarechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen. Der Autor formuliert zugleich einen Beitrag zu einer zeitgemäßen Auslegung des Grundsatzes der kommunalen Selbstverwaltung, die diese internationale Bedingtheit städtischen und gemeindlichen Handelns rezipiert.

In times of rapid urbanization, municipalities have become increasingly relevant actors on the world stage, setting up networks, cooperating with international organisations and implementing international law. Helmut Philipp Aust analyses this development in light of constitutional and administrative law aspects as well as applicable international and EU law frameworks.

Madsen & Christensen: Global Actors: Networks, Elites, and Institutions

Mikael Rask Madsen (Univ. of Copenhagen - Law) & Mikkel Jarle Christensen (Univ. of Copenhagen - Law) have posted Global Actors: Networks, Elites, and Institutions. Here's the abstract:

Over the past several decades scholars have intensively debated what factors drive globalization. Answers have ranged from the emergence of the information society and the global economy to value-conflicts embedded in different civilizations. A different yet closely related question is who is driving globalization? That is, however, much less studied, even if it is arguably key to making global governance intelligible. A whole list of actors seem to offer possible answers to the question of who the globalizers are: Are they global institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the International Criminal Court (ICC); communities of experts providing technocratic solutions; transnational networks of activists seeking to alter global and national politics by pursuing, for example, environmental or human rights agendas; or are they powerful individuals forming transnational elites taking the fate of the global society in their hands at a safe distance from ordinary politics in places such as Brussels, New York, or Davos?

Call for Papers: Trust, Social Capital and Networks: A different perspective on International Courts

iCourts, Centre of Excellence for International Courts has issued a call for papers for a workshop on "Trust, Social Capital and Networks: A different perspective on International Courts," to take place February 4-5, 2016. Here's the call:

Trust, Social Capital and Networks: A different perspective on Intertional Courts - Call for papers

Organised by iCourts, Centre of Excellence for International Courts.

The workshop, which will take place in February 2016 at iCourts, University of Copenhagen, aims to provide participants with the opportunity to think through and develop a new research agenda on social capital, networks and trust to be applied to understand International Courts and legal regimes.

While concepts of social capital, networks and trust are increasingly used in the study of International Courts and Law, the discipline still lacks a systematic analysis of the role, limits and uses of these concepts for the study of International Courts (ICs). The current discussions of trust, social capital and networks have evolved in separate spheres, circumscribed to a specific court or legal institution. This situation shows a fragmented conceptualization, preventing the creation of common conceptual frameworks, which could promote mutual understanding and exchanges among scholars in the field.

iCourts, committed to the promotion of the interdisciplinary perspective in the area of International Courts and Law, is inviting participants from several disciplines with an interest in International Courts to a high-level interdisciplinary discussion of the topic. This would allow for cross-fertilization, exchange of opinions and knowledge between the academics but also for the critical assessment of the new tools which the scholars use to scrutinize these concepts in the context of ICs. By doing this, the workshop will hopefully contribute to a wide-ranging discussion. This includes not only general theoretical approaches and concepts but also comparative and specific case studies based on original and innovative empirical evidence of how these concepts are or can be applied to several international courts and legal regimes (e.g. International Criminal Court, European Court of Justice, European Court of Human Rights, WTO dispute settlement system, arbitration bodies, and national courts, among others).

In order to frame the debate and papers, we ask paper-givers to reflect about: To what extent are these concepts applicable for the study of ICs? Can we agree on a common definition of these terms? How can these concepts help to explore the dynamics behind the creation, empowerment and legitimization of ICs in the global and domestic context and its success? Which empirical indicators are useful to investigate trust, social capital and networks in ICs? And, finally, how these new theories and concepts might contribute or challenge our current understanding of international courts and/or scholarship?

The conference will include papers presented by invited participants, as well as papers selected in the course of the present call for papers. We will seek to publish a selection of the papers in a special journal issue or book.

Paper submission
The workshop will be open to new participants PhD researchers, junior and senior scholars from international institutions working on this topic with an empirical approach. The papers should deal with specific topics related to the overall theme “Trust, social capital and networks in International Courts”. The selection will seek to ensure a balanced representation of the various ICs across the glove, disciplines (sociology, law, political science, etc.) and methods. – The proposal (approx. 300 words) should be submitted by the 15th of October 2015 and include:

• Title of the paper
• Research question
• Methodology and data
• Expected findings

The proposals should be submitted with curriculum vitae of the author/s to Juan A. Mayoral – juan.mayoral@jur.ku.dk

Financing
Authors of selected papers will be offered accommodation in a hotel in Copenhagen; lunches and coffee breaks will be covered for all the participants by iCourts.

Carpenter: "Lost" Causes: Agenda Vetting in Global Issue Networks and the Shaping of Human Security

Charli Carpenter (Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst - Political Science) has published "Lost" Causes: Agenda Vetting in Global Issue Networks and the Shaping of Human Security (Cornell Univ. Press 2014). Here's the abstract:

Why do some issues and threats—diseases, weapons, human rights abuses, vulnerable populations—get more global policy attention than others? How do global activist networks decide the particular causes for which they advocate among the many problems in need of solutions? According to Charli Carpenter, the answer lies in the politics of global issue networks themselves. Building on surveys, focus groups, and analyses of issue network websites, Carpenter concludes that network access has a direct relation to influence over how issues are ranked. Advocacy elites in nongovernmental and transnational organizations judge candidate issues not just on their merit but on how the issues connect to specific organizations, individuals, and even other issues.

In “Lost” Causes, Carpenter uses three case studies of emerging campaigns to show these dynamics at work: banning infant male circumcision; compensating the wartime killing and maiming of civilians; and prohibiting the deployment of fully autonomous weapons (so-called killer robots). The fate of each of these campaigns was determined not just by the persistence and hard work of entrepreneurs but by advocacy elites’ perception of the issues’ network ties. Combining sweeping analytical argument with compelling narrative, Carpenter reveals how the global human security agenda is determined.

Symposium: The Rise of Transnational Networks

The Southern Methodist University School of Law will host a symposium on "The Rise of Transnational Networks," November 7, 2008, in Dallas. The program is here. Why attend?

In the last few decades, judges, legislators, prosecutors, and agency officials have increasingly been coordinating policy and decision-making across borders through informal networks. Such coordination has often occurred without formal legal sanction and is especially prominent in areas of cross-border regulation, including banking, antitrust, environmental protection, and securities law. But it also occurs in more politically charged areas, such as constitutional law, national security, law enforcement, and human rights.

This conference will review the record of transnational networks and the promise they hold for deeper and more effective international cooperation. Under what conditions are transnational networks likely to arise and how do they function? What are their advantages over traditional diplomacy and international organizations, and in what circumstances are networks most likely to be successful? What are some of the main obstacles to their legitimacy and effectiveness, and how can these obstacles be overcome?