POLST 362'3 The IPE of Biotechnology

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POLST 362.3 The IPE of Biotechnology

• Lecture 17
• Governing the Global Economy

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Where are we now?
• Remember the IPE Problem
• What is the appropriate structure, function and
  governance of international integration?
• Now, the problem of appropriate global governance
  
• An appropriate mechanism to assume the functions
  of
• Provision of public goods
• Correct market failures
• Ensure an equitable distribution of the benefits
  and burdens of international integration
• Gilpin Chapter 15

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• The perennial challenge of global governance
• Centripetal forces of economic and technological
  interdependence
• Centrifugal forces of nation-state autonomy
• Economic Competitiveness --- protectionism
• Social Protectionism

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Traditionally, the solution has been the
  transatlantic alliance (Cooper 1968)
• Economic policy (low politics) subsumed within
  Global security (high politics)
• Economic policy as a tool of international
  governance
• Therefore, diplomatic concessions easier to make
• Now, significant challenges to this traditional
  solution

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Add a de-coupling of
• High Politics
• Global security and stability
• Nation-states cooperating for global security and
  stability
• Low Politics
• Economic diplomacy now a tool of nation-state
  competitiveness vis-à-vis other nation-states
• Nation-states competing for economic and
  technological supremacy
• Especially transatlantic differences
• No Cold-War Glue!

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Add new economic competitors
• Japan
• China
• Asian Tigers
• India
• No longer just a transatlantic bargain

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Add new issues on the integration agenda
• From traditional integration barriers
• Border measures Tariffs, quotas
• To new integration barriers
• Regulations
• Economic
• Social

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Add rise of regional integration/regionalism
• Especially within the transatlantic alliance
• Stepping-stone for international integration?
• Nation-states band together to prepare for
  international integration
• Stumbling-block for international integration?
• Nation-states band together to prevent
  international integration

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Add new actors
• Traditional actors are nation-states according to
  rules of diplomacy
• Now NGOs
• MNCs Multinational Corporations
• CSOs Civil Society Organizations
• Who play by new rules outside the traditional
  diplomatic channels

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Question
• Given these new challenges, what type of global
  governance mechanism is required providing
  international public goods
• International standards and regulations
• Economic
• Social
• Rule of law in international integration DSM
• Trade, Investment, Property, Environment, Labour
• Monetary and financial stability
• Transportation
• Communication

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Three Predominant perspectives on global
  governance
• Neoliberal institutionalism
• New medievalism
• Transgovernmentalism
• To solve three predominant governance problems
• Democratic Deficit
• Authority and Power
• Institutional Reform

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• A. Neoliberal Institutionalism
• While nation-states dominate
• This dominance must be contained by international
  regimes and institutions
• Still composed of nation-state members
• Hence, governance must be based on international
  norms fostering cooperation alleged examples of
  this
• Shift of GATT to WTO
• Emergence of MEAs
• CBD --- BSP Kyoto Protocol CITIES Montreal
  Protocol Basel Convention
• Tradition of success yet, up for the new
  challenges?

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Democratic Deficit
• Strengths
• Nation-states with their own domestic mandate are
  participants
• Basis of international integration is
  cooperation through channels of diplomacy
• Weaknesses
• Assumption of neoliberal dominance some actors
  not from a neoliberal tradition
• Little direct role for international NGOs
  especially civil society in the channels of
  diplomacy

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Authority and Power
• Traditionally transatlantic dominance
• Strengths
• Focus on international/multilateral not captured
  by any one nation-state
• Market is the true authority Harmonized market
  focus economic rationality
• Often formal DSM
• Weaknesses
• Systemic differences who decides? suppose a
  systemic conflict such as social rationality? Or
  the concerns of LDCs?
• Dominated by neoliberal domestic perspectives
• Incompliance --- what can really be done?
• How to deal with regionalism? Which prevails?

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Institutional Reform
• Strengths
• With international focus rules become
  broad-based
• Yet, this requires cooperation and compromise!
• Weaknesses
• Institutions trying to be everything to
  everyone become marooned in the middle ---
  neither acceptably market-oriented nor
  interventionist!
• How to deal with inter-institutional conflict
  (WTO BSP)?
• Which prevails?
• In reaction to the weaknesses of the neoliberal
  institutionalism perspective two other
  perspectives have gained support

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• B. New medievalism
• Problems of governance solved by the end of the
  nation-state erosion of centralized power ---
  three explicit forces
• Fragmentation of states internally because many
  nation-states are based on arbitrary
  jurisdictions that do not reflect real identity
• Rise of regionalism
• Rise of transnational NGOs MNCs and CSOs
• Hence, decouples
• Government --- nation-state function
• From Governance --- social function, where
  social transcends borders

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• New Medievalism calls for institutional reform
  separate from power
• Authority is
• Shared by intertwined relationships at the local,
  regional multilateral levels
• According to relevant expertise and involvement
• Democratic Deficit is
• Removed by the truly transnational focus
• Central role for NGOs of all types overcoming
  the nation-state policy monopoly

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Yet, weaknesses remain
• Can global governance work without a power-based
  compliance mechanism
• Kyoto Protocol
• An expertise-based authority function is not
  really what many NGOs have in mind!
• This would be exclusionary
• Also are shared values and understandings
  really emerging?
• If yes, then why not more standardization rather
  than regionalism, protectionism, etc.

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• C. Transgovernmentalism
• While the nation-state retains its primary role,
  this time the division of policy responsibilities
  does not stop at the border
• Instead
• Intergovernmental policy networks to deal with
  technical issues --- epistemic communities
• Similar to neofunctionalism

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Operationalizing transgovernmentalism
• First, divide governments into their component
  parts
• According to policy area
• Decoupling high and low politics no policy issue
  trumps another
• Second, solve technical issues in isolation among
  policy experts

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POLST 362 Global Governance

• Weaknesses remain
• Requires at least a shared role of government
  perspective
• If one does not exist, which one dominates?
• Does technical transgovernmentalism translate to
  global governance?
• The history of trade negotiations suggests that
  trade-offs are required cannot deal with policy
  differences in isolation
• Democratic deficit
• Dominance of nation-states and role of policy
  experts effectively limits many NGOs
• Authority and Power
• Can we really assume that there is no policy
  hierarchy?

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Conclusions

• Gilpin argues that trade-offs required to develop
  a position on the appropriate structure, function
  and governance of the international system
• To know what trade-offs to make, you must clear
  on question of Governance for what?
• Global security and stability -- High politics
• Economic efficiency -- Low politics
• Social equity -- Low or high politics?