Non-state actor dynamics in international law : from law-takers to law-makers

1. Introduction -- 2. Norms, globalization and human rights -- 3. Emergence of corporate social responsibility in the 1970s -- 4. New issues of corporate social responsibility introduced -- 5. Development towards 'norm tipping' and activist organizations -- 6. Involvement by business initiative and multi-stakeholder organizations -- 7. Norm cascade of the 1990s : mushrooming of initiatives and the targeting of Nike -- 8. Continued norm cascade : voluntary standards, accountability through law, and good practice and partnership -- 9. Incipient norm internalization and the case for norm consolidation -- 10. Summary and concluding discussion. Pt. 1. Introduction. Legitimacy, Democracy And Rios : Where Is The Gap? / Anna Van Der Vleuten And Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann -- Pt. 2. Defining And Assessing Legitimacy And Democracy In Rios. Rios, Legitimacy And Democracy : A Conceptual Clarification / Berry Tholen; Discussing Regional And Domestic Democracy / Juliana Erthal; The Question Of Input, Control And Output Legitimacy In Economic Rios / Bob Reinalda -- Pt. 3. Rios, Regional Parliaments And Subnational State Actors. Regional Parliaments In Europe And Latin America : Between Empowerment And Irrelevance / Andrés Malamud And Luís De Sousa; Sub-national State Actors And Their Role In Regional Governance / Marcelo A. Medeiros -- Pt. 4. Rios, Legitimacy And Non-state Actors. Is There Any Room For Input And Control Legitimacy By Civil Society In Mercosur? / Michelle Ratton Sanchez; The Contribution Of Non-state Actors To The Legitimacy Of Caricom / Gerda Van Roozendaal -- Pt. 5. Rios And The Member States : Legitimacy And Democrazy. Contrasting Cases: Explaining Interventions By Sadc And Asean / Anna Van Der Vleuten; Political Conditionality And Democratic Clauses In The Eu And Mercosur / Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann -- Pt. 6. Conclusion. Legitimacy And Democracy In Regional Integration Organizations : Closing Or Widening The Gap? / Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann And Anna Van Der Vleuten. Edited By Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann, Anna Van Der Vleuten. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

Non-state actors have always been treated with ambivalence in the works of international law. While their empirical existence is widely acknowledged and their impact and influence uncontested, non-state actors are still not in the centre of international legal research. The idea that non-state actors are not law-makers, however, stands in sharp contrast with the growing notion of non-state actors as law-takers.

This book examines the position of non-state actors in international law as law-makers and law-takers and questions whether these different positions can or should be separated from each other. Each contribution reveals both the political and normative aspects of the question as well as the positivistic possibilities and constraints to accommodate non-state actors as law-takers and law-makers in the contemporary international legal system. Altogether, each expert reveals that the position of non-state actors in international law is not a fixed one but changes with the functional and theoretical perspectives of the observer.

Non-State Actor Dynamics in International Law is a welcomed addition to an under researched field of legal study. An indispensable read to scholars and policy makers wishing to gain new insights into general discourse on non-state actors in international law and the process of norm formation in the international realm.

Choosing The Lesser Evil : Selecting Humanitarian Aid Projects -- Filling A Void In Ngo Research : Understanding Diversity In Ngo Behavior -- Opening The Black Box Of Internal Ngo Dynamics : An Organizational Decision-making Perspective -- Towards The Reality Of Humanitarian Aid Provision : Three Sketches Of Ngo Behavior -- Traces Of The Administrative Organization : Msf's Organizational Features -- Consequentionality In Aid Provision : Msf's Dominant Decision-making Pattern -- Disagreement, Commitment, And Constraints : Msf's Secondary Decision-making Patterns -- From Consequential To Garbage Can Decision-making : Two Examples Of Msf Aid Provision To Africa -- The Opposite Of The Administrative Organization : Act Netherlands' Organizational Features -- Working With 'the Family' : Act's Dominant Decision-making Pattern -- Working Outside 'the Family' : Act's Secondary Decision-making Patterns -- Decision-making Dynamics In Msf And Act : Comparison And Discussion Of Research Results -- A Look Beyond The Horizon : Identifying Steps Towards Theoretical Generalization -- Complexity Reduction Through Decision-making : Intended And Unintended Consequences In Humanitarian Aid. Liesbet Heyse. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [221]-230) And Indexes. Combining normative analysis and theory-driven empirical research in a comparative framework, this volume clarifies and explains the connections between regional international governance, legitimacy and democracy. It focuses on the quality of democracy and the legitimacy of policy making in multilevel regional systems. The volume offers a much-needed clarification of confusing concepts such as legitimacy, democracy and'civil society'in non-national political systems. It critically assesses the quality of democracy and legitimacy within different Regional International Organizations (RIOs); it examines how networks of non-state actors become a kind of transnational civil society and assesses their potential for solving legitimacy deficits; and it investigates the impact of democratic conditionality in different RIOs. The contributors deepen our understanding of a relatively new non-state actor on the international scene - the regional international organization - and investigate the potential contribution of transnational non-state actors to the quality of governance at the regional level. In recent decades, claims have increasingly been made on transnational corporations to take responsibility for the promotion and protection of human and labour rights in countries where they operate. This behavioural obligation results from the persistent advocacy of non-governmental organizations and is commonly known as corporate social responsibility (CSR). Driven by the theory of the 'norm life cycle model', the book uses an interesting range of case studies, including Nike and the anti-apartheid movement, to trace the development of CSR as an international norm. The development is examined through five selected non-governmental organizations: Clean Clothes Campaign, Fair-trade Labelling Organizations International, Global Exchange, International Business Leaders Forum and the International Labor Rights Fund. The book makes a lucid contribution to an emerging scholarship, and will interest researchers and practitioners involved in issues of global governance and global civil society. -- Publisher description Legitimacy, democracy and RIOs : what is the issue? / Anna van der Vleuten and Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann RIOs, legitimacy and democracy : a conceptual clarification / Berry Tholen Discussing regional and domestic democracy / Juliana Erthal The question of input, control and output legitimacy in economic RIOs / Bob Reinalda Regional parliaments in Europe and Latin America : between empowerment and irrelevance / Andrés Malamud and Luís de Sousa Sub-national state actors and their role in regional governance / Marcelo A. Medeiros Is there any room for legitimacy by civil society in Mercosur? / Michelle Ratton Sanchez The contribution of non-state actors to the legitimacy of Caricom / Gerda van Roozendaal Contrasting cases: explaining interventions by SADC and ASEAN / Anna van der Vleuten Political conditionality and democratic clauses in the EU and Mercosur / Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann Legitimacy and democracy in RIOs : closing or widening the gap? / Andrea Ribeiro Hoffmann and Anna van der Vleuten. "How do international organizations support local peacebuilding? Do they really understand conflict? Partners in Peace challenges the global perceptions and assumptions of the roles played by civil society in peacebuilding and offers a radically new perspective on how international organizations can support such efforts. Framing the debate using case studies from Africa and Central America, the author examines different meanings of peacebuilding, the practices and politics of interpreting conflict and how planned interventions work out. Comparing original views with contemporary perceptions of non-state actors, Partners in Peace includes many recommendations for NGOs involved in peacebuilding and constructs a new understanding on how these possible solutions relate to politics and practices on the ground. Concise in both theoretical and empirical analysis, this book is an important contribution to our understanding of civil society's role in building sustainable peace."--Publisher description How do non-governmental humanitarian aid organizations initiate, terminate and extend their project activities? Humanitarian aid organizations regularly face difficult decisions about life and death in a context of serious time constraints which force them daily to select whom to help and whom not to help. Liesbet Heyse focuses on how humanitarian aid organizations make these decisions and provides an inside view of the decision making processes. Two NGO case studies are used as illustration - Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) and Acting with Churches Together (ACT) - both of which operate in an international network and represent specific types of NGOs often found in the community. This book opens up the black box of NGO operations, provides an empirical account of organizational decision making and combines insights of organization theory and organizational decision making theory. How do international organizations support local peacebuilding? Do they really understand conflict? Framing the debate using case studies from Africa and Central America, Partners in Peace challenges the global perceptions and assumptions of the roles played by civil society in peacebuilding and offers a radically new perspective on how international organizations can support such efforts Driven by the theory of the 'norm life cycle model', the book uses a range of case studies to trace the development of corporate social responsibility as an international norm. The book makes a lucid contribution to an emerging scholarship, and will interest researchers and practitioners involved in issues of global governance and global civil society. How do non-governmental humanitarian aid organizations initiate, terminate and extend their project activities? Liesbet Heyse opens up the black box of NGO operations, providing an empirical account of organizational decision making amongst this increasingly important group of actors