Category Archives: Global governance

UCL Global Governance Institute: A Year in Review

At a Global Governance Institute (GGI) public lecture in June with Mervyn King, former head of the Bank of England, Lord King reflected on the troubled state of global economic governance against a backdrop of “radical uncertainty”, meaning the kind of uncertainty that statistical analysis cannot model.

Radical uncertainty may be the motif of our times.

Continue reading UCL Global Governance Institute: A Year in Review

UCL-GGI Symposium: Towards a Third Generation of Global Governance Research and Practice

On 12-13 November 2015, we hosted an International Symposium on Global Governance at the UCL Institute of Global Governance. This two-day event sought to advance understanding of global governance scholarship by bringing together some of the world’s leading academics working in the field to share their insights on what is an evolving school of thought. Despite its relevance to key processes underlying the major global public policy questions of our age, the contours of ‘global governance’ remain contested, with few claiming it constitutes a theory or established field of study. Continue reading UCL-GGI Symposium: Towards a Third Generation of Global Governance Research and Practice

Replies: A Third Generation of Global Governance Research

David Coen and I published ‘Wanted: A Third Generation of Global Governance Research’ in August 2015 where we proposed advancing a powerful ‘third generation’ of global governance research by integrating insights across International Relations, European Public Policy and International Law scholarship. I am glad to say the piece has been well-received and provoked quite a lot of debate already! I’m particularly grateful to colleagues who have taken the time to contribute response pieces to The Governance blog. Continue reading Replies: A Third Generation of Global Governance Research

Wanted: A Third Generation of Global Governance Research

David Coen, founding Director of the UCL Global Governance Institute (GGI), and I have just published a Commentary in the journal Governance which sets out our initial thoughts on an ambitious new research agenda on global governance. Together with colleagues at UCL and beyond, the GGI is dedicated to advancing a research agenda on global governance which seeks to integrate insights across an theoretically and empirically-rich second generation of scholarship to ground a powerful third generation of global governance scholarship, distinguished by a concern for the complexity and dynamism of global public policy-making and delivery in the 21st century. An extract of the piece follows, the full publication can be viewed here. Continue reading Wanted: A Third Generation of Global Governance Research

What is the functional need/specific benefit of global human rights governance?

The actors, mechanisms, and processes of contemporary global human rights governance have their antecedents in a desire to prevent massive violence and warfare. However, the remit has rapidly evolved to encompass a range of global policy challenges, from universal health provision to sustainable development. Human rights provides one normative bedrock upon which to anchor a conception of governance in the service of the global common good. Notwithstanding debate over their meaning and conceptual parameters, there is widespread acceptance that human rights norms are substantially important, reflecting pragmatic, deeply-held shared concerns. Continue reading What is the functional need/specific benefit of global human rights governance?