Operationalizing Global Governance

The schedule presents an outline. Click to see the complete abstracts.

6:30pm

Dinner

9:30am
3rd Floor Lobby

Coffee for Participants

9:45 - 10
Faculty Conference Room

Introduction and Welcoming Remarks

• Hannah Buxbaum
  Associate Dean for Research and Professor of Law
  Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington

10:00 - 12
Faculty Conference Room

Video* or mp3 audio

Panel 1
Constitution-making in Complex Local Contexts

Description: At one level, constitution-making is a very traditional form of legal consultation, drawing on the disciplines of comparative law and political science. In many societies, however, the process is undeniably complicated by factors such as the involvement of transnational actors and the existence of ethnic conflict. This panel will then address constitution-making in such complex local contexts, addressing questions including: What practices of local cultural engagement are crucial to constitution-making? When and where does global networking promote democracy in very local contexts?

• David Williams
  Moderator
• Adeno Addis
  

  Constitutionalizing Deliberative Democracy in Severely Fractured Societies

  Many states are deeply fractured along ethnic lines. In those societies, ethnicity is a salient political fact around which issues and political parties are organized. Democracy defined as majoritarian rule is often a problem rather than a solution, for it may lead to the perpetual domination of one ethnic group by another. Long term stability of such societies will be ensured only if the institutions are inclusive of the various groups while at the same time providing the condition for the cultivation of interethnic or national solidarity. The talk will outline and defend a version of deliberative democracy that I argue will meet these two criteria. I will contrast this approach with two approaches currently dominant in the field.

• Blake Puckett
  

  Governance Promoters as Subjects: Examining the Role of the International Legal Assistance Expert

  In a globalizing world a key concern in both the literature and among activists is the empowering of local populations vis-a-vis transnational corporations, hegemonic states and imperial cultures. Whether through NGOs, development projects, or individual international experts, resources, expertise and advocacy are brought to bear to improve the living conditions of the assisted community. But without an adequate understanding of the local community, this assistance can be ineffective or even counterproductive. How then can international experts come to understand local power structures, historical contingencies, and cultural viewpoints in ways that enable effective assistance?

• Larry Cata Backer
  

  God(s) Over Constitutions: International and Religious Transnational Constitutionalism in the 21st Century

  This paper focuses on the challenge by transcendent, universalist, autonomous, religious communities and their efforts to displace secular universalist normative constitutional frameworks with transcendent religious frameworks no less universal. The paper starts with a brief description of the constitutionalist framework prior to the Second World War, and then looks at the construction of a secular universalist constitutionalist system after 1945. The focus then turns to an examination of the rise of religiously based or theocratic systems. The paper ends with end with a look to the implications of these seismic movements in global constitutionalism with a focus on Islamic and Hindu states.

• Miguel Schor
  

  Democracy and Judicial Review: the Cases of Colombia and Mexico

  This paper explores the relationship between democracy and judicial review by examining the very different roles played by the Mexican Supreme Court and the Colombian Constitutional Court. The former primarily facilitates the separation of powers whereas the latter primarily seeks to deepen the social bases of democracy. Why the Mexican Supreme Court plays a role akin to the one played by the Marshall Court and why the Colombian Constitutional Court bears a familial relationship to the Warren Court is a puzzle. The two courts after all became potent political actors in the 90s as the result of constitutional transformations undertaken to effectuate both procedural and substantive components of democracy. The argument is that courts in transitional democracies are strategic actors that can sometimes plug the gaps in the democratic order.

12 - 1:15 pm
Faculty Lounge

Lunch

1:15 - 3:15
Faculty Conference Room

Video* or mp3 audio

Panel 2
Corporate Self-regulation and Private Law Networks

Description: This panel will address the role of corporations and trade in implementing good governance practices. How can multinational corporations and local businesses assume voluntary codes of conduct and corporate social responsibility in order to promote principles of global governance? Is the undertaking itself precarious for the common good? How do private networks – both legal ones (investment, technology, etc.) and illegal ones (drugs, weapons, and humans) – impact complex governance?

• Gustavo Ribeiro
  Moderator
  

  The Role (or hole) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) towards Corporate Social Responsibility

  The WTO has considerably advanced the goal of trade liberalization providing greater market access for countries (and corporations) and a very active dispute settlement system that countries can resort to, in case their trade benefits are being nullified or impaired. Critics, nevertheless, have pointed out that while the goal of liberalization advances, corporations have been relatively free to explore and operate under low social and environmental standards while trading. Because the WTO regulates State-to-State rights and duties, the organization has been often perceived to have no role towards CSR. This paper takes issues with this common-sense perception and explains how possible roles between the WTO and CSR might eventually evolve.

• Robert S. Wai
  

  Private Law and the Conditions of Transnational Governance

  Private law might offer distinctive strengths in structuring the conditions for operationalizing governance in a world order comprised of plural regimes of state and non-state networks and actors. Private law in the domestic context aims at establishing institutional frameworks for both facilitating and regulating private conduct. This paper will examine whether private law can play a similar role in aligning private incentives and social goals in the transnational context. Whether through potential litigation or otherwise, do existing regimes of private law cast a productive "shadow" over the activities of transnational economic actors? Does private law provide sufficient connection between private party practice and legitimate state authority.

• Sarah Altschuller
  

  Operationalizing International Human Right Standards in the Extractive Sector

  Companies in the oil, gas, and mining industries face the challenge of conducting their operations in a manner that not only respects national and international laws, but also observes voluntary standards and industry guidelines concerning social and environmental issues. In a world of fixed natural resources, company operations are contextualized by complex national and international political and social dynamics that frequently pose significant human rights challenges. The governance and legal questions posed by these challenges will be explored in the context of industry-specific case studies, including the operation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

• Tim Baines
  

  Adoption and Implementation of the Equator Principles

  Tim's presentation will focus on the adoption and implementation of the Equator Principles by Equator Principles Financial Institutions, including:

  • a summary of the Equator Principles and obligations of Equator Principles Financial Institutions from a "legal" and practical point of view; and
  • key issues relating to consultation, assessment and accountability.

  Tim will compare and contrast the Equator Principles to other international voluntary initiatives such as the UN Global Compact and Principles of Responsible Investment. Finally, Tim will discuss the provisions of the UK Companies Act 2006 in the context of a non-voluntary approach to corporate responsibility.

• Michael Ewing-Chow
  

  Pain, Gain or Shame: What Can We Learn from Environmental Law's Approaches to MNCs?

  No man is an island entire of itself; Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main; - Meditation XVII Devotions upon Emergent Occasions John Donne

  The evolution of environmental law in the past century have been linked to the growing acceptance of the notion of collective global responsibility which entails the notion of sustainable development. At the turn of this century, the focus of environmental law has shifted from the creation of a global framework to deal with environmental problems to that of compliance of these frameworks. As a result, the primary actor of environmental policy has shifted from the state to that of the corporation. How has environmental law developed so as to encourage compliance by this “new” primary actor? Conversely, how has the corporation been changed by these developments?

3:15 - 3:30
3rd Floor Lobby

Break

3:30 - 5:30
Faculty Conference Room

Video* or mp3 audio

Panel 3
Civil Society—the Answer or Obstacle to Implementation?

Description: Civil society and NGOs are often proposed as critical partners in solving problems of global import while simultaneously criticized for their lack of accountability. This panel will address questions such as: How can civil society organizations overcome inherent problems of accountability and preserve principles of representative democracy? How have humanitarian and development activities undertaken by some civil society organizations merged with global security concerns?

• Christiana Ochoa
  Moderator
• Faina Milman
  

  Representation of Corporatist Interests and the "Democratic Deficit" at the EU: Lessons from the International Labor Organizations (ILO)

  My presentation addresses the debate on the EU "democratic deficit," and in particular the debate as to the potential contribution of civil society actors to democratizing European governance. I draw on recent developments at the International Labor Organization (ILO), the only international organization that formally incorporates civil society in its structure. I first establish some commonalities between the approach of the ILO and the EU towards allocating formal power to the social partners, highlighting that both transnational organizations promote neo-corporatists representation structures. I then consider the lessons from the ILO's experience with trade unions and civil society, and their relevance to the EU governance structure.

• Sarah D. Phillips
  

  Civil Society and Disability Rights in Post-Soviet Ukraine: NGOs, Transnational Advocacy, and Prospects for Change

  In this paper I focus on the disability rights movement in post-Soviet Ukraine to gauge the ability of NGOs to empower marginalized citizens in conditions of postsocialism. I draw on ethnographic research with NGO activists and state officials to explore the following questions: What do "grassroots" organizations look like in postsocialist states, how effective are they, and what accounts for their success or failure? What empowerment strategies have proven most successful for the disabled population, and why? How has the disability rights movement changed over the last several decades, and what do these shifts reveal about democratization, civil society, and dynamics of global governance in the region? Based on these findings, how can foreign and transnational advocacy organizations best make an impact in places like post-Soviet Ukraine?

• Michael Szporluk
  

  Problems of Accountability/Defining Civil Society

  My remarks first look briefly at how global security changes have influenced the provision of humanitarian assistance and development activities, making it more difficult to conduct work in the field. I then identify and review the inherent problems of accountability” and look at the sets of relationships which are factors in determining the efficiency and effectiveness and accountability of responses. I look at some initiatives underway led by different stakeholders to improve accountability and finally look at Mercy Corps'’understanding of civil society and how we work toward strengthening it accountably.

7 pm

Dinner

9:30 am
3rd Floor Lobby

Coffee for Participants

10 - 12 pm
Faculty Conference Room

Video* or mp3 audio

Panel 4
Operationalizing Global Governance in a Complex World

Description: A culmination of the prior day’s work, this panel will contextualize global governance and its “operationalization” on the ground. The focus here is on the emergence of common principles or best practices from the studied linkages between different types of actors and various spheres of scholarship in order to address complex local and global problems. Emphasis will be placed on drawing conclusions and general lessons from the other panels and topics.

• Hannah L. Buxbaum
  Moderator
• Brian Winchester
  

  Emerging Global Environmental Governance

  Environmental values have steadily gained widespread, even global, acceptance, but are often in conflict with economic interests and international politics. Environmentalism is further challenged by scientific uncertainty involving effects that will only be manifest in some cases far into the future. Nonetheless, accompanying this global environmental awakening has been an extraordinary number of international environmental agreements. It is these international environmental regimes, involving as they do, a variety of non-state actors, which suggest movement towards an evolving, complex form of global environmental governance.

• Muna Ndulo
  

  One Nation, Multiple Identifies: Ethnicity, Inclusivity and Constitution Making

  The election crisis in Kenya and the manner in which a disputed election result has taken on ethnic dimensions reminds us that one of the major challenges that plagues African states is that of managing diversity in the governance of the state. Most African states comprise multi-ethnic societies with low levels of ethnic integration. As the Kenyan crisis demonstrates, many African states have yet to achieve clarity on what political framework will best manage diversity, achieve good governance, as well as draw upon indigenous African cultures, values and institutions. As a result a number of African countries have faced demands for self determination by minority groups that feel excluded from the political process. These demands have sometimes led to conflicts, instability and to the vulnerability of the state to collapse. This paper considers the best practices in dealing with the challenge of diversity in constitution making. It seeks to identify some of the key issues that must be addressed in the constitution to address diversity and promote a sense of citizenship and ownership of the political process in a nation despite the diverse identities of its people.

• Tim Waters
  

  Annoying Westphalian Objections, and So Late in the Day

  Operationalizing global governance -- in other words, putting it into action (and therefore, implicitly, putting behind us concerns about whether it is a good thing or what it even is) -- implies asking questions about which conditions it might work under and which not. Are there situations in which otherwise attractively complex, transnational, globalized networks are either structurally problematic (the international criminal law process, perhaps) or improbable (arguably some forms of humanitarian intervention), or might have worse effects than hoary old Westphalian approaches (Bosnia's current constitutional process comes to mind)? Thinking about the limits and liabilities of global governance is not necessarily skepticism about the idea, but a way to give pragmatically useful shape to a set of processes which, as yet, are as inchoate as they may be inevitable or desirable.

12 - 1
Faculty Conference Room

Concluding Discussion

1 - 2:30
Faculty Lounge

Lunch