Topic: Governance / Political Geography: Global Focus

1. Energy Data Spaces and Market Power: a new challenge for data sovereignty and its governance

Author:: Emanuele Giovannetti
Publication Date:: 01-2026
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: LSE IDEAS
Abstract:: This paper examines how the digitalisation of energy markets, driven by smart meter data and Energy Data Spaces, is reshaping competition in retail electricity services. It analyses the implications for market power, consumer outcomes, and data sovereignty, highlighting the regulatory challenges posed by data-driven business models that operate across national boundaries.
Topic:: Markets, Governance, Regulation, Digitalization, and Energy
Political Geography:: Global Focus

2. How IPLCs Can Leverage BRICS for Inclusive Environmental Governance

Author:: Metolo Foyet
Publication Date:: 02-2026
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Nkafu Policy Institute
Abstract:: As global power shifts toward multipolarity, Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs)face a pivotal chance to influence the emerging governance architecture of the BRICS+ alliance.Western-led frameworks (UNFCCC, CBD) recognize Indigenous rights but still struggle withimplementation. BRICS, representing over half the world’s population and major biodiversity,offers an alternative platform to advance plural knowledge systems and South–South solidarity. This brief proposes embedding Indigenous leadership within BRICS institutions, aligning newnorms with UNDRIP and ILO 169, and creating financial and knowledge instruments that sustaincommunity-led conservation. The goal is shared sovereignty in environmental decision-making,not token participation. The central question is whether BRICS can evolve from a geopolitical and financial bloc into a rights-based governance platform where IPLCs become co-architects ofglobal environmental policy, and whether multipolar governance can close implementation gapsby embedding Indigenous authority at the design stage.
Topic:: Environment, Governance, Indigenous, BRICS, and Multipolarity
Political Geography:: Global Focus

3. The means of prediction and the production function of AI

Author:: Maximilian Kasy
Publication Date:: 02-2026
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Economics for Inclusive Prosperity (EfIP)
Abstract:: The real AI governance challenge: Who gets to decide what AI systems optimize for? Current debates miss that AI conflicts are between different groups of people, not humans vs. machines. Power flows from control of AI inputs: Those who control the means of prediction (data, computing power, expertise, and energy) determine AI objectives. Current governance approaches fail: Individual privacy rights and market mechanisms can’t address AI’s collective harms and benefits. Democratic control is the solution: Give stakeholders affected by AI decisions a voice in setting AI objectives.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Governance, Regulation, Privacy, Artificial Intelligence, and Prediction
Political Geography:: Global Focus

4. AI National Security Scenarios

Author:: Duncan Cass-Beggs and Matthew da Mota
Publication Date:: 02-2026
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: On March 26, 2025, the Global AI Risks Initiative at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and the Privy Council Office of Canada co-hosted a full-day, in-person scenarios workshop in Ottawa, Ontario, to explore existing and emerging implications for national security posed by next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) systems. This summary report contains policy recommendations that are intended to stimulate and enrich discussion among policy makers and the broader public. It is composed of three parts: an executive summary highlighting key messages drawn from the workshop discussions and background literature; a detailed description of key uncertainties and five possible future AI scenarios and implications considered at the workshop, adapted from the background paper shared with participants in advance of the workshop; and an appendix summarizing key points from the workshop discussion.
Topic:: National Security, Governance, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:: Global Focus

5. Research for Community Benefits and Risks from Carbon Credit Project

Author:: Oxfam in Cambodia
Publication Date:: 03-2026
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: This study examines the community-level benefits and risks associated with carbon credit initiatives in Cambodia, with a focus on REDD+ initiatives. The research focuses on the governance and socioeconomic dimensions of these initiatives rather than their technical carbon accounting performance.
Topic:: Climate Change, Governance, Socioeconomics, Carbon Credits, and Carbon Finance
Political Geography:: Global Focus

6. From Commitments to Communities: Rethinking Climate Finance: How civil society and community participation strengthen accountability, access and equity

Author:: Tallulah Cherry-Virdee and Bertram Zagema
Publication Date:: 05-2026
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The climate crisis is accelerating, but climate finance is still not reaching the people who need it most. Despite repeated promises and global commitments, funding remains inadequate, fragmented, and too often locked in top-down systems that ignore local realities. Communities on the frontlines and civil society actors are too often shut out of decisions that directly affect their lives — excluded from planning, budgeting, and access to finance itself. This must change. Real climate justice demands finance that is accessible, equitable, and driven by the voices of those most impacted. Drawing on 21 studies from across the Global South, this report exposes systemic barriers in climate finance and shines a light on what works. It highlights how civil society is already driving change, and sets out clear, practical recommendations to make climate finance more accountable, inclusive, and rooted in community realities.
Topic:: Governance, Climate Finance, Participatory Budgeting, Climate Justice, and Fiscal Justice
Political Geography:: Global Focus

7. The Pursuit of Smart Mobility in Urban Nodes: Trends and Innovation for Citizens and Freight

Author:: Carlo Secchi, Giovanni Maria Della Gatta, and Stefano Riela
Publication Date:: 06-2026
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
Abstract:: Urbanisation is transforming territories at an unprecedented pace, redefining how people and goods move within, between and beyond cities. As urban areas expand and interconnect, mobility systems are called to respond with greater efficiency, sustainability and resilience. At the core of this transformation are urban nodes – strategic interfaces where local and long-distance networks converge. Here, mobility is evolving from a fragmented set of transport modes into an integrated system shaped by accessibility, seamless connectivity and user experience. At the same time, freight mobility introduces additional complexity, requiring coordinated, multi-actor approaches and a gradual shift toward multimodal and adaptive logistics. Technological innovation is accelerating this transition. Data-driven tools, intelligent infrastructure and emerging solutions such as artificial intelligence and digital platforms are reshaping how mobility systems are planned and managed. Yet, the challenge extends beyond technology. Environmental sustainability, territorial cohesion and the integration of peripheral regions remain critical dimensions of this evolution. Smart mobility is thus emerging as a systemic paradigm – one that links infrastructure, governance and innovation. Its success depends not only on performance and efficiency, but on the ability to create more balanced, inclusive and future-oriented mobility systems.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Infrastructure, Governance, Urbanization, Mobility, Innovation, Transportation, and Cities
Political Geography:: Global Focus

8. A plan for a World Trade Organization sectoral agreement on semiconductors

Author:: Petros C. Mavroidis and Mario R. Palacios
Publication Date:: 07-2026
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Bruegel
Abstract:: To promote their economic security, or simply to inflict damage on other nations, countries are increasingly weaponising trade policy. To do so, trading nations must sidestep the rules-based system established in the aftermath of the Second World War because this system, in letter and spirit, opposes such behaviour. However, neglecting the rules-based system leads to uncertainty, and uncertainty incentivises trading nations to intensify their pursuit of national economic security, thus undermining the multilateral edifice even more. It does not have to be this way, however. Based on an analysis of trade in semiconductors (a product market in which there is clear weaponisation of trade policy), we argue that, while a comprehensive negotiation on economic security may be currently unrealistic, a sectoral agreement within the World Trade Organization would be both feasible and appropriate, and could provide a template for regulating economic security. Such an agreement should include non-discriminatory trade in high-end semiconductors and a negotiated list of segments of the covered product market, in which signatories will be allowed to erect barriers to protect economic/national security without being obliged to compensate affected parties.
Topic:: Security, Science and Technology, World Trade Organization, Governance, Multilateralism, Trade Policy, and Semiconductors
Political Geography:: Global Focus

9. South Korea’s Sovereign AI Initiative for Democracy: A Transferable Model for the Global Community

Author:: Jong Jin Lee
Publication Date:: 06-2026
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: East Asia Institute (EAI)
Abstract:: Jong Jin Lee, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies, Seoul National University, argues that South Korea's Sovereign AI framework — anchored in the AI Basic Act (2024/2026) and the K-AI Initiative — offers a replicable third path between Silicon Valley techno-liberalism and Chinese state-AI authoritarianism. Tracing Korea's AI governance evolution across three institutional phases, Dr. Lee contends that democratic alignment, civic oversight, and epistemic sovereignty constitute the core of a globally transferable model. Building on this analysis, the author calls for middle-power democracies to adopt Korea's frameworks for AI security resilience and pluralistic technical standards as a democratic alternative to the dominant AI order.
Topic:: Sovereignty, Governance, Democracy, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:: Asia, South Korea, and Global Focus

10. AI Governance and Geopolitical Challenges: What’s Next after Italy’s G7 Presidency?

Author:: Federica Marconi
Publication Date:: 01-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: Profound technological developments have marked recent years, coupled with increasing geopolitical instability and economic fragmentation driven by rising tensions between major powers. Emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), have been at the core of global competition due to their potential for enhancing productivity and fostering innovation. The technological race has started to extend also to the definition of global AI governance frameworks, with the United States, the EU and China pursuing divergent regulatory approaches and striving to influence countries, especially in the Global South, that are looking at the existing models for their national regulatory systems. Against this backdrop, international fora such as the G7 are called upon to play a key role in fostering dialogue on how to reconcile these divergent perspectives and shape global governance for AI.
Topic:: International Political Economy, Governance, G20, G7, and Digital Policy
Political Geography:: Italy and Global Focus

11. Funding Climate Mobility Projects: Key Players and Strategies for Growth

Author:: Lawrence Huang and Samuel Davidoff-Gore
Publication Date:: 03-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: While international donors have long supported responses to displacement driven by natural disasters, climate change is reshaping the challenge at hand. It can worsen extreme weather events such as storms while also posing slower-onset threats such as desertification and sea level rise, which can directly and indirectly force people to move. The growing scale and complexity of climate-related mobility thus requires a paradigm shift in global funding for responses. This issue brief provides an overview of how development funders are responding to climate mobility issues, highlights entry points for donors interested in engaging on this issue, and outlines common barriers and strategies to overcome them. It examines development assistance provided via both bilateral cooperation and multilateral funding, through multilateral development banks, global climate funds, and more. This research draws on insights shared by representatives of donor governments, philanthropic foundations, and multilateral development banks as part of a multi-year Donor Community of Practice on Climate Mobility.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Migration, Governance, Mobility, and Climate Refugees
Political Geography:: Global Focus

12. Gender diversity and economic growth

Author:: Jonathan Ostry
Publication Date:: 02-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Bruegel
Abstract:: Most macroeconomic and growth accounting models assume that male and female workers are perfectly substitutable in the aggregate production function. Whether this assumption is valid is an empirical question that this paper aims to answer by estimating the elasticity of substitution between female and male labour. We apply linear and non-linear techniques to firm-level data, cross-country sectoral data and cross-country aggregate data. We find that women and men are far from being perfect substitutes in production, a result that is consistent with much microeconomic evidence, but has not permeated to macroeconomics. The failure to account for imperfect gender substitutability has far-reaching implications. In particular, standard growth accounting exercises are likely to attribute to technological progress gains that are more properly attributable to the impact of greater gender inclusiveness in the labour force over time. Put differently, the gains from gender inclusiveness are likely to be much larger than standard economic models estimate.
Topic:: Governance, Women, Employment, Inequality, Economic Growth, and Macroeconomics
Political Geography:: Global Focus

13. Sovereigns on thinning ice: debt sustainability, climate impacts and adaptation

Author:: Matteo Calcaterra, Andrea Consiglio, Vincenzo Martorana, Massimo Tavoni, and Stavros Zenios
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Bruegel
Abstract:: A fundamental problem for sovereigns enacting climate policies is whether they can manage increasing debts as their economies suffer from adverse climate impacts. We develop stochastic debt sustainability analysis integrating a coupled climate-economy model with debt financing scenario optimisation, and stress test sovereign debt for representative countries globally under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change marker narrative scenarios of climate change. The stress test combines socioeconomic and climate pathways with calibrated aleatory scenario trees of economic, fiscal and financial variables to generate forward-looking debt projections over the century. These projections incorporate climate-induced damages to economic growth, spanning the broad spectrum of impact functions from the literature. Our findings reveal significant risks to sovereign debt sustainability, particularly under high climate damages, that are large from mid-century. Expected costs increase by up to 3 percent of GDP under high climate impact in a world of regional rivalries, or 0.25 percent under low impact in a middle-of-the-road narrative, with considerable variation between countries. The long-run debts of highly impacted countries are unsustainable. We assess whether adaptation investments or fiscal consolidation can mitigate potential climate-debt crises. Public financing of reactive adaptation is a justified expenditure that breaks even but does not fully restore the debt sustainability of highly impacted high-debt countries. Maintaining public spending while ensuring debt sustainability appears infeasible under climate impacts.
Topic:: Climate Change, Governance, Macroeconomics, Fiscal Policy, Public Debt, and Decarbonization
Political Geography:: Global Focus

14. AI for Justice and Justice for AI: Why Access to Justice Enables Better AI Governance

Author:: Nate Edwards
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Abstract:: The rapid development of emerging technology and artificial intelligence (AI) offers opportunities to create a more equal, just and inclusive world, but only if governance systems move in concert with innovation. To leverage the positive potential of AI, the multilateral system needs to utilize the tools already at its disposal. These tools include the capacity to set normative frameworks, institutionalize universal values, and facilitate collective action among diverse stakeholders. In particular, years of research, policy frameworks, partnership development, and programming to advance the sustainable development agenda (Agenda 2030) could become an asset to maximize the positive potential of the AI revolution. These longstanding efforts will not only benefit from new technologies, but they also offer tributaries by which the positive potential of AI can flow. One such effort is the international movement to provide equal access to justice for all by reshaping the way we think about justice and promoting a people-centered approach to addressing actual legal needs (SDG16.3). A world where everyone has equal access to justice would naturally complement more equal and inclusive AI governance. In fact, when designing new frameworks to regulate emerging technology, policymakers must use an approach that mitigates power imbalances at the individual and institutional levels, undercutting the risks of elite capture through increased accessibility of technology and its use. At the global level, too often the multilateral system is one step behind the world’s next challenge, and ill-prepared to recover from misaligned incentives, power imbalances, and unfettered capture. Focusing on justice could help the system catch up. This analysis makes a two-pronged argument: Strong, well-designed legal systems, with the principle of equal access to justice for all at the center, could support a more balanced, inclusive, and equitable AI revolution, while increasing access to the benefits of technology to everyone. Therefore, the multilateral system should prioritize equal access to justice for all as a way to facilitate the positive potential of AI. Reciprocally, an inclusive and equitable AI revolution could increase equal access to justice for all.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Governance, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:: Global Focus

15. Advancing Governance at the Nexus of Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Weapons

Author:: Fei Su, Vladislav Chernavskikh, and Wilfred Wan
Publication Date:: 03-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Abstract:: The rapid advancement of military artificial intelligence (AI), especially its potential integration into nuclear systems, presents significant risks to strategic stability and established deterrence practices. Despite these concerns, no dedicated governance framework currently exists to address the specific challenges of the AI–nuclear nexus. Existing initiatives have primarily focused on ensuring human control over nuclear decision-making. There are a number of state-led initiatives on the governance of military AI more broadly. They can be adapted to address the use of AI in nuclear weapons, but applying them will not be straightforward. There is thus a need to extend the conversation beyond the ‘human in the loop’ concept and develop targeted governance measures. Future discussions could investigate the precise level and degree of required human control and set clear red lines for both the extent and the type of AI integration in nuclear and related systems.
Topic:: Nuclear Weapons, Governance, Disarmament, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:: Global Focus

16. Climate Change, Human Mobility and Security

Author:: Kheira Tarif
Publication Date:: 11-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Abstract:: This SIPRI Policy Brief explores the connected challenges of climate change, human mobility and security, highlighting how fragmented policies and misconceptions—such as the myth of mass climate migration—hinder effective responses. The brief contributes to addressing this gap by presenting findings on three underexplored dynamics across the mobility spectrum. It finds that urban migration can support adaptation but also strain urban conditions, involuntary immobility can heighten people’s vulnerabilities, and poorly designed climate action can lead to displacement, inequality or unrest. These dynamics show that governance determines the security outcomes of human mobility. To address this, the policy brief calls for safe, rights-based migration that facilitates climate adaptation; support for the most vulnerable, immobile populations; and people-led, democratic climate action.
Topic:: Security, Climate Change, Governance, and Mobility
Political Geography:: Global Focus

17. La Geopolítica de las Regiones Polares: Desafíos y Oportunidades en un Mundo Cambiante

Author:: Samuel Morales
Publication Date:: 05-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: Este artículo examina la evolución de la geopolítica en las regiones polares —el Ártico y la Antártida— en el contexto de un mundo marcado por el cambio climático, la competencia por recursos estratégicos, el ascenso de nuevas potencias y la transformación del sistema internacional. A través de un enfoque comparado, se analizan las estructuras de gobernanza, los intereses geoestratégicos, los conflictos emergentes y las oportunidades de cooperación en ambas regiones. En el caso del Ártico, el trabajo identifica una creciente militarización, competencia por hidrocarburos y minerales críticos, así como el interés de actores extrarregionales como China. La gobernanza, basada en el Consejo Ártico y en acuerdos multilaterales como la UNCLOS, muestra limitaciones frente a tensiones interestatales y amenazas ambientales. La Antártida, en contraste, se mantiene bajo un régimen jurídico sólido —el Sistema del Tratado Antártico— que ha logrado preservar la paz y la cooperación científica. Sin embargo, la posible revisión del Protocolo de Madrid en 2048 y la presión por acceder a recursos biológicos y otros activos plantean desafíos futuros. El artículo propone una lectura sistémica e interdisciplinaria de las regiones polares, sugiriendo reformas en los regímenes de gobernanza, mayor inclusión de actores no estatales e instrumentos jurídicos adaptativos.
Topic:: Climate Change, Natural Resources, Governance, and Geopolitics
Political Geography:: Global Focus

18. Resilience to Online Disinformation: The Role of Civil Society Organizations

Author:: Agnieszka Bejma and Yun-Ju Kao
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:: Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:: The proliferation of online disinformation poses a serious threat to democratic societies, undermining electoral integrity, fueling polarization, and eroding public trust in institutions. Addressing this complex and evolving challenge cannot be the responsibility of governments or civil society actors alone. This article argues that civil society organizations (CSOs), when engaged as co-creators in democratic governance, play a vital role in fostering information resilience in the digital age. Drawing on comparative case studies from Taiwan and Poland: two democracies that have been frequent targets of foreign disinformation campaigns, we examine how CSOs respond to these threats through fact-checking, media monitoring, digital literacy education, and public awareness campaigns. Our findings show that CSOs not only expose misleading content but also empower citizens to critically engage with information ecosystems. The study contributes to the emerging literature on co-governance by demonstrating that effective responses to disinformation require multiactor collaboration, with CSOs serving as institutional partners in safeguarding democratic resilience.
Topic:: Civil Society, Governance, Democracy, Resilience, and Disinformation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

19. Smart Governance: A Conceptual Analysis and Integrative Model

Author:: Temoor Bin Aslam and Sobia Khurram
Publication Date:: 01-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: South Asian Studies
Institution:: Department of Political Science, University of the Punjab
Abstract:: Smart Governance is an emerging theme, but its propositions are found to be varied in literature. This study is aimed to extract different propositions for Smart Governance from literature and put them together into a coherent whole with an integrative model to offer a more complete and nuanced view of this theme. Towards this end, a total of eight literature reviews were shortlisted for an in-depth review. Meta-synthesis of the propositions in shortlisted reviews helped develop an integrative model that highlights characteristics, dimensions, and components in conjunction with implementation strategies and the aspired outcomes of Smart Governance. This model can serve as a framework for understanding and applying Smart Governance in local and national contexts.
Topic:: Governance, Smart Cities, Data, and Integrative Model
Political Geography:: Global Focus

20. The Risks of Unregulated “Private” Credit Funds

Author:: Lenore Palladino and Harrison Karlewicz
Publication Date:: 06-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: The “private” financial industry—which contains financial instruments not traded on open exchanges and financial institutions that are underregulated—is no longer an ‘alternative’ to open financial markets. Between 2020 and 2023, assets in private funds grew by 34 percent, from $20.8 trillion to nearly $28 trillion. While private equity funds have been subject to attention from academics and policymakers, another institutional formation is growing rapidly and has received far less scrutiny: private credit funds. The private credit market has drawn borrowers who cannot secure credit from regulated banks—raising questions about their suitability for such unregulated market transactions. While borrowers benefit from flexible lending terms, these terms come at a higher cost. The private nature of these loans offers another key advantage: unlike corporate bonds, the loan terms remain confidential. The global industry of private credit has $1.8 trillion in assets under management, up from $500 billion in 2015. This article examines the history of this evolution in credit provision and the risks to limited partners and the broader financial system posed by unregulated private credit funds.
Topic:: Governance, Regulation, Finance, Industry, and Financial Institutions
Political Geography:: Global Focus

21. Planetary Health and the Perils of Progress: A Framework for Governing the Global Commons

Author:: Pey Peili
Publication Date:: 08-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: As the Planetary Health movement marks its tenth anniversary, the global community faces a critical dilemma, exemplified by the debate over deep-sea mining for the green transition. This NTS Insight argues that this is not a new challenge but a recurring historical pattern of progress-driven environmental degradation, with a clear precedent in the 19th-century annihilation of the American bison. This analysis demonstrates how the Planetary Health framework, by integrating principles of systems thinking, precaution, and justice, provides the essential governance lens needed to diagnose and break this destructive cycle. The piece concludes with policy pathways for embedding a Planetary Health approach into the governance of the global commons, including navigating regional norms like ASEAN’s non-interference principle, to ensure that the pursuit of sustainability does not create new zones of ecological sacrifice and geopolitical inequity.
Topic:: Environment, Governance, Mining, Sustainability, ASEAN, and Green Transition
Political Geography:: Asia and Global Focus

22. A Decade of Planetary Health: Learning from the Past and Securing Earth’s Future

Author:: Pey Peili
Publication Date:: 08-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: A decade after its conception, Planetary Health remains a vital framework linking human and planetary well-being. It challenges a dangerous historical pattern where progress was accompanied by wanton environmental destruction, from the 19th-century bison slaughter to increased production of palm oil and modern deep-sea mining. To secure a resilient future, a shift towards integrated and systemic governance is required.
Topic:: Environment, Governance, Mining, Global Health, and Extinction
Political Geography:: Global Focus

23. Bridging the Disconnect: COP30 and the Way Forward in Climate Governance

Author:: Adam Hansen
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Despite its emphasis on collective action, civil society and Indigenous-led backlash at COP30 highlight a persistent gap in climate governance. Addressing state-centrism and COP lobbyism while adopting a human security approach is essential to reclaiming global climate action’s original ambition of responding to a crisis facing all.
Topic:: Climate Change, Governance, Human Security, and Conference of the Parties (COP)
Political Geography:: Global Focus

24. The impact of global governance networks on social innovation for sustainable development: linking setup, enablers and cooperation results of the Managing Global Governance (MGG) Network

Author:: Johanna Vogel and Wulf Reiners
Publication Date:: 01-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: Networks as relational infrastructure play an important role in strengthening cooperative efforts toward sustainable development. This paper analyzes the Managing Global Governance (MGG) Network – a transnational, multi-stakeholder network that employs collaborative training, knowledge cooperation and policy dialogue instruments. The network includes members from Brazil, China, the EU, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa. To understand how the implementation of Agenda 2030 through cooperation in networks can be fostered, this paper examines the conditions under which global governance networks create impact. Using a literature review, external evaluation studies and 27 qualitative interviews, the paper categorises impact across four levels: individual, organizational, network and systemic–institutional. Additionally, it analyzes the impact on the network itself – not only as an enabler of impact but also as a subject affected by cooperation within the network. In this context, several types of impact can be distinguished, ranging from improved international cooperation structures to behavior change and the reorientation of organizational policies. We conclude that three dimensions of a network's setup are key to enabling social innovation for sustainable development: 1. the composition of network members 2. the cooperation infrastructure 3. the cooperation culture. These insights contribute to the ongoing debate on how to link change at the individual level with transformation in more institutionalized structures – particularly in organizations and broader systemic contexts. The paper is especially relevant for scholars engaged in network analysis and development, decision-makers involved in transnational multi-stakeholder networks, and international cooperation actors aiming for sustainable development impact.
Topic:: Development, Governance, Social Innovation, and Sustainable Development
Political Geography:: Global Focus

25. Why Member State Engagement Needs to Be at the Heart of UN80 to Unlock Its Success

Author:: Thibault Camelli and Fernando Marani
Publication Date:: 10-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Abstract:: Six months after its launch, the Secretary-General’s “UN80” reform initiative is still widely seen as lacking meaningful and systematic member state engagement. This perception has created distrust among delegations, weakened political traction, and hampered momentum as the Secretary-General’s term is drawing to a close. As the world leaders gathered in New York for the “General Debate” at the end of September to launch the 80th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, very few actually mentioned reform. More striking even, the few who did lamented a process they essentially regarded as technocratic, administrative, and internal to the Secretariat. Without a clear role for delegations, permanent representatives, and capitals, the process risks lacking legitimacy and member states’ ownership. The main challenge is the absence of deliberate design. The fragmented UN governance—across mandates, committees, boards, and subsidiary bodies—results in an already arcane system, not unusual for UN Reform, but challenging for delegations to navigate. However, it is not inevitable. Entry points exist to anchor reform legitimacy, align processes, and mobilize capitals. Experience from previous cycles, from the 2005 World Summit follow-up to the 2017 repositioning of the UN development system, shows that reforms only gained traction when member states were explicitly engaged through regular political dialogues, articulated with a strong political leadership from the Secretariat. Strategic adjustments are both urgent and feasible. This paper proposes a member state engagement toolkit across four dimensions: substance, scope, modalities, and dynamics. Recommendations include appointing permanent representatives as focal points, creating light coordination mechanisms, convening regular cross-regional dialogues and feedback loops, and empowering decision-shapers through targeted support and structured briefings. Such measures would not only enhance ownership but also reduce political risk for the Secretary-General by spreading accountability across the membership. The window for recalibration is narrow but real. In the immediate aftermath of High-Level Week launching the 80th session of the General Assembly, there is still time to build shared ownership of the UN80 reform. Credible engagement is not just a procedural improvement but a political necessity. Without it, the initiative risks being seen as Secretariat-driven, reinforcing doubts about whether the UN can apply to itself the same principles it promotes to others. To address these risks, this paper sets out a practical toolkit of 10 recommendations for strengthening member state engagement in UN80. The recommendations are structured across four dimensions (substance, scope, modalities, and dynamics). A distinction was also made between measures that require Secretariat action and those that depend on the authority of the President of the General Assembly and member states. Taken together, they outline both immediate adjustments for the UN80 cycle and longer-term reforms to embed engagement more systematically. Table 1 below summarizes these recommendations. To operationalize these 10 recommendations beyond the four dimensions that helped identify them, we reframed them into three overarching priorities that capture the essential conditions for reform to succeed: Ensure transparent information flows: information is the foundation, as predictable updates and clear pathways allow delegations and capitals to prepare and engage. Mobilize political leadership: leadership is the driver, as permanent representatives and capitals must convert information into political traction and coherence. Sustain effective oversight: oversight is the guarantor, as decision-shapers require tools to monitor implementation and maintain accountability. Read together, these three priorities provide a coherent logic to ensure effective member states engagement, and a simple structure for assessing whether UN80 is on track.
Topic:: United Nations, Governance, Reform, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

26. SDG 1 and Corruption: No Poverty

Author:: Benedict Clements, Sanjeev Gupta, and João Tova Jalles
Publication Date:: 08-2025
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: Achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 requires not only sustained economic growth and robust social protection systems but also a concerted effort to combat corruption, which remains a critical barrier to poverty reduction. This paper examines the multifaceted ways in which corruption undermines poverty alleviation efforts—by distorting public resource allocation, weakening institutions, eroding public trust, and reducing government capacity to mobilize domestic resources, particularly through taxation. The paper then explores strategies for addressing corruption, including enhancing fiscal transparency, strengthening anti-corruption legislation, improving public financial management, and leveraging digital technologies. Ultimately, it argues that tackling corruption is essential for creating the fiscal and institutional foundations necessary for achieving SDG 1 and promoting inclusive and sustainable development.
Topic:: Corruption, Poverty, Governance, Sustainable Development Goals, Transparency, and Development Finance
Political Geography:: Global Focus

27. Post-Summit Analyses: BRICS 2025 and the Rio Declaration

Author:: CEBRI
Publication Date:: 08-2025
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
Abstract:: BRICS expanded faces a crucial moment for multilateralism. The period between the recent summit held in Rio de Janeiro and the upcoming presidency of the bloc in India, in 2026, offers an opportunity to plan the next steps. In its new configuration, following the 2024 expansion, Brazil faces challenges in recalibrating its role within the group. Within the context of new agendas, governance between annual presidencies becomes increasingly important. Brazil’s effort to assert its leadership hinges on influencing the bloc’s agenda during the next presidency, a process that begins as soon as the Rio summit was concluded. In this context, the closed-door meeting aims to analyze Brazil’s real capacity to act as a diplomatic bridge between BRICS and its traditional Western interlocutors, especially the European Union, as well as between the 2025 Summit in Brazil and the 2026 Summit under India’s presidency. Based on Brazil’s and New Delhi’s commitment to democracy and multilateralism, the bridge between these two presidencies may represent an effort to ease tensions, providing greater transparency and predictability to decisions made within BRICS. Additionally, it is essential to deepen the understanding of what can be drawn from the final communiqué, the Leaders’ Declaration of the 17th BRICS Summit, by analyzing the political impacts of the meeting and the developments stemming from the joint declaration.
Topic:: Governance, European Union, Democracy, Multilateralism, and BRICS
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Global Focus

28. Youth Participation in Global Climate Governance: A Study on Contemporary IGO-NGO Relations

Author:: Buse Mina Tümkaya
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Novus Orbis: Journal of Politics & International Relations
Institution:: Department of International Relations, Karadeniz Technical University
Abstract:: The evolving relationships between youth environmental movements and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) within the framework of global climate governance are complex. Focusing on movements such as Extinction Rebellion (XR), Fridays for Future (FFF), Last Generation (LG), and Just Stop Oil (JSO), this article examines how these groups leverage contemporary tactics and mass mobilization to influence policy and public opinion. Utilizing the theoretical framework of Tana Johnson, this research categorizes and analyzes the intricate relations between these movements and IGOs through the 4Cs Taxonomy. While trying to determine which category these relations fall into (cooperative, co-optative, competitive or conflictual), the study also traces the shifts between categories over time and their reasons.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Governance, Youth, NGOs, Political Movements, and Intergovernmental Organizations
Political Geography:: Global Focus

29. AI Governance and the Geopolitics of Extraction

Author:: Samantha Bradshaw and Kate Munro
Publication Date:: 10-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: The infrastructure of artificial intelligence (AI) depends on critical minerals and rare earth elements, making their supply chains a central factor in national security, economic stability, and global technology competition and governance. Overreliance on supply chains characterized by limited geographic diversification exposes AI commercial and defence industries to trade disruptions, cyber sabotage and strategic leverage. Diversifying supply chains requires international cooperation that accounts for sustainability, labour standards and transparency to balance national security with environmental and human security concerns.
Topic:: Human Rights, National Security, Governance, Geopolitics, Artificial Intelligence, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:: Global Focus

30. Stateless Studies in an Age of Artificial Intelligence: Challenges, Opportunities & Setting a Future Agenda

Author:: Jason Tucker
Publication Date:: 08-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:: Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:: Since 2010,there has been enormous social and political hype around artificial intelligence (‘AI’) and how it has, and will, continue to impact society. This is not just puffery, and there is growing recognition across a range of fields that there is an urgent need to further explore the use, scope and impact of AI in relation to digital forms of citizenship and the datafication of societies. Concern arises as the adoption of these technologies has led to significant changes in how citizenship is not only experiencedand performed, but also how states regulate citizenship. Despite this growing recognition, most notably within citizenship studies,1statelessnessstudies have remained largely silent on AI. In this piece,I argue that this lack of engagement is very problematic. I do so by highlighting five areas where AI should be a matter of interest (or concern) in statelessnessstudies: 1) transparency in AI supported decision making on citizenship and statelessness, 2) perpetrating and amplifying discrimination against people who are stateless, 3) the legacy of statelessness in data: ‘The citizenship-bias’, 4) engaging with emerging AI governance and 5) AI-supported research and advocacy on statelessness.These five areas only begin to scratch the surface of a much-needed research and engagement agenda on AI in statelessnessstudies. However, it is hoped that this piece can act as a catalyst for further discussion on how we can advance our understanding and use of AI in the field. Doing so is essential if we are to be able to manage the risks as well as capitalise on the opportunities of this technology in relationtostatelessness.
Topic:: Governance, Discrimination, Artificial Intelligence, Decision-Making, and Statelessness
Political Geography:: Global Focus

31. Advancing nature-based solutions in tropical forests

Author:: Mike Speirs, Mikkel Funder, and Marie Ladekjær Gravesen
Publication Date:: 09-2025
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Tropical forests are vital for climate, biodiversity and people, and a key component in nature-based solutions. With COP30 approaching, lessons from current efforts show how international support can help national efforts to advance equitable and sustainable forest governance. Nature-based solutions (NbS) are well-documented approaches to address biodiversity loss and climate change risks, while also supporting socioeconomic development. Tropical forests are a critical component of such approaches. Forests are key hotspots for biodiversity, they play a crucial role in regulating the global climate and they support the livelihoods of millions of people around the world. Improving the protection, conservation, restoration and sustainable management and governance of tropical forests is therefore an essential component of NbS. Many governments, non-governmental organisations, private sector and financial institution actors, as well as international agencies, are engaged in these efforts. Local, national and regionally-anchored initiatives are the keys to success, but how can international support help facilitate them? This question is highly relevant both for individual initiatives and for the UNFCCC COP30 negotiations in November 2025, given the Brazilian Presidency’s strong focus on forest conservation and restoration through proposals to establish the so-called Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF). This brief provides recommendations for how international support can help enhance NbS in tropical forest conservation, thereby ensuring better quality of efforts. The recommendations are derived from shared experiences and discussions at a seminar organised by the Danish Nature-based Solutions Knowledge Platform, which brought together a wide range of public, private and civil society actors working on NbS in the Brazilian Amazon and the Congo Basin where, inter alia, the new Danish Tropical Forest Initiative (TFI) is providing funds.
Topic:: Climate Change, Governance, Forest, Biodiversity, Conference of the Parties (COP), and Development Policy
Political Geography:: Global Focus

32. Simulations of the United Nations Veto Initiative: Process, Documents, and Prospects for Reform

Author:: Barbara Buckinx, TJ Eyerman, Charles Fraser, Anuj Krishnan, Elmir Mukhtarov, Alejandra Ramos, and Aly Rashid
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
Abstract:: In April 2023, a year after its adoption, the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination held the first-ever simulation of the United Nations (UN) veto initiative (UNGA RES/76/262). A subsequent simulation took place in March 2024. Passed amid criticism of UN Security Council inaction in response to the war in Ukraine, the veto initiative resolution aims to enhance the effectiveness, accountability, and transparency of the UN when it comes to matters of international peace and security. In the simulations, we tested scenarios for the implications of the veto initiative for the relationship between the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, and for the legitimacy of the UN as a whole.
Topic:: United Nations, Governance, Reform, UN Security Council, Simulation, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:: Global Focus

33. The flaws in project-based carbon credit trading and the need for jurisdictional alternatives

Author:: Byron Swift, Ken Berlin, George Frampton, and Frank Willey
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: This issue brief highlights several significant, and at times unresolvable, problems with the project-based approach to carbon credit trading, the purpose of which is to reduce deforestation and sequester carbon. Beginning with first-hand observations of the principal author during his experience with forest conservation efforts in the tropics, the brief describes the challenges that arise when this crediting model is implemented in the field, particularly in rainforests and other remote areas of the world. The publication then assesses the three critical structural problems with project-based credit trading that lead to a fundamental lack of integrity in such programs: The intractable challenges of a project-based regulatory structure involving difficult-to-prove requirements of additionally and leakage prevention. The major transaction and intermediary costs that can amount to half of project funding. The credit duration that is far less than the life of the additional CO2 emissions that are consequently emitted. The analysis also explains how economic forces and incentives exacerbate these problems, particularly with programs that are carried out by commercial credit traders as opposed to nonprofit entities. Finally, this brief discusses better alternatives, such as jurisdictional programs administered by governments or Indigenous associations, that could more effectively reduce emissions and strengthen the social fabric of communities required to assure credit integrity, accurate measurement, and adequate co-benefits.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Markets, Governance, Carbon Emissions, Energy, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:: Global Focus

34. Locally-led climate change adaptation works: Here are eight ways to support it

Author:: Claire Bedelian, Judith Mulwa, Beatrice Sumari, and Peter Rogers
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Locally-led adaptation (LLA) is a framework of key principles for how to support communities in adapting to climate change. This policy brief looks at a study of six LLA water-related projects in Kenya and Tanzania to explore how donors, governments and civil society actors can best support the approach.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Water, Governance, and Adaptation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

35. Disentangling Government Responses: How Do We Know When Accountability Work Is Gaining Traction?

Author:: Jonathan Fox, Brendan Halloran, Alta Fölscher, and Rosie McGee
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Accountability Research Center (ARC), American University
Abstract:: Advocacy for public accountability aims to produce certain reactions from government officials or service providers. However, the reactions can be many and diverse, and it is not always clear to advocates how to interpret them and decide on next steps—whether to intensify efforts or back off; continue the same strategy or make adjustments. This paper presents a framework to help accountability advocates and practitioners interpret government reactions to their efforts and move forward appropriately. The framework arises from learning and reflection in the context of the International Budget Partnership (IBP)’s Strengthening Public Accountability with Results and Knowledge (SPARK) program. SPARK seeks to bolster the collective agency of marginalized communities and coalitions to advance democratic and equitable fiscal governance systems that channel public resources to services that address the priority needs of these historically excluded groups.
Topic:: Government, Governance, Accountability, and Financial Management
Political Geography:: Global Focus

36. Tomorrow’s Global Development Landscape: Mapping Trends and Reform Dynamics

Author:: Heiner Janus, Niels Keijzer, and Svea Koch
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: The key tools and governance approaches for international cooperation for sustainable development (hereafter, international cooperation) were set up in a markedly different time and age. International cooperation – with official development assistance (ODA) as the dominant means of implementation – remains key, despite being generally considered as no longer adequate for addressing today’s common and collective challenges. Despite numerous declarations of its growing irrelevance or calls for it even being beyond repair, the governance and reporting system of ODA has remained largely unchanged throughout its 60 years of existence. One reason is that there are few alternatives. Pandemic response and preparedness, climate finance, humanitarian aid, the United Nations development system as well as the budgets of the multilateral development banks all by and large remain dependent on ODA. New and additional sources of development finance have been slow to materialise and run the risk of remaining time-bound and ad-hoc, as illustrated by recent discussions on Special Drawing Rights, debt swaps and green bonds. While other actors, such as providers of South-South Cooperation (SSC), and non-governmental actors are increasing and gaining importance, they are only to a limited degree institutionalised. In the absence of transparent and coherent methodologies for monitoring their actions, concrete financial volumes remain hard to assess. This paper analyses structural factors of the institutional inertia in international cooperation and formulates expectations for where new reform impetuses might arise from. To this end, it maps and links key reform proposals for the global development system, with a specific focus on public financial flows consisting of three connected parts. The first part concerns current forms of and reporting processes for ODA, climate finance and SSC. These concern well-established, albeit path-dependent, forms of international cooperation with different types of multistakeholder settings and different levels of institutionalisation. Here, we do not expect fundamental reforms given various entrenched interests and expect that the nexus between climate finance and ODA will be the main driver for change. The second part of our mapping consists of what we call “global first” reform ideas. These ideas begin with a problem-oriented approach at the global level and aim at setting up new, universal financing schemes and redesigning institutional structures for that purpose. While the ideas in this category are still in their initial stage, we regard them to be particularly relevant for conceptualising the “demand-side” of reforms (i.e., “what would be needed?”). Here, we predict that the more ambitious reforms for creating universality of contributions and benefits at the global level will not materialise. However, these concepts play a key role in influencing the future orientation of specific existing (multilateral) institutions. The third part of our mapping entails positioning current multilateral and bilateral development organisations located between the first two parts. We observe that these organisations experience a gravitational pull towards both directions of reform, namely focusing on global public goods versus prioritising the (countries) left behind, often with competing incentives and trade-offs between national and global development priorities. We expect that a reform of bilateral development actors will lag behind in the broader policy field due to their domestic political constraints, whereas multilateral development banks will generate greater reform momentum (and be pushed by their stakeholders) as first movers.
Topic:: Development, International Cooperation, Governance, and Reform
Political Geography:: Global Focus

37. Foreign Interference Online: Where Disinformation Infringes on Freedom of Thought

Author:: Wesley Wark
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: “Foreign interference targeting democratic societies works not by the classic Orwellian formula of ruthless powers limiting sources of information and knowledge,” Wesley Wark writes, but by “multiplying and amplifying chosen channels of information, and attempting to corrupt the availability of true information in favour of that which is both false and harmful.” At their most intense, disinformation campaigns amount to “cognitive warfare, a hostile attempt to alter thinking.” In a social media–saturated world, these operations find many and diverse channels for disinformation’s spread, which depends on the inculcation of “fearful unknowing” in the targeted, often vulnerable, audience. A campaign’s objectives might be both direct and indirect: an aim to influence electoral outcomes could overlap with a broader goal to undermine confidence in democratic processes. Public attention to the issue of foreign state interference, as recently experienced in Canada and currently the subject of a judicial inquiry, is the first indicator that freedom of thought principles might be in play. Wark suggests ways to counter these campaigns, beginning with government taking the lead in enhancing public understanding of all national security threats, including those posed by disinformation.
Topic:: Security, Governance, Democracy, Internet, Social Media, Disinformation, and Foreign Interference
Political Geography:: Canada and Global Focus

38. Conceptualizing Global Governance of AI

Author:: Maral Niazi
Publication Date:: 02-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: Merging artificial intelligence (AI) and global governance, global AI governance focuses on defining terms to deepen understanding, promote collaboration and create informed policies. It emphasizes multi-stakeholder and multi-level cooperation in managing AI’s global impacts. AI’s societal impacts are broad, offering exceptional benefits while carrying unintended risks. Its rise poses geopolitical challenges, affecting transparency, privacy and power dynamics in both democratic and non-democratic states. Empirical and normative research is essential in forming global AI governance, guiding ethical values and legal practices for ethical data use and unbiased algorithm development. Empirical research provides verifiable knowledge through data and experiences, highlighting regime complexities in an anarchic system of global governance, meaning a system with no central authority. Normative research examines values and norms, assessing AI systems’ trustworthiness and ethical compliance. Multilateral cooperation in global AI governance involves collaborative efforts among numerous actors to establish universally accepted norms and policies for AI. An institutional framework for global AI governance should incorporate lessons from international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Organization for Nuclear Research/Conseil européen pour la recherche nucléaire to guide AI’s ethical development and deployment within and beyond national borders. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Topic:: International Cooperation, Governance, Multilateral Relations, Artificial Intelligence, and Emerging Technology
Political Geography:: Global Focus

39. The Climate Policy Crisis: Governing Disinformation in the Digital Age

Author:: Andrew Heffernan
Publication Date:: 02-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: Climate change is the quintessential global challenge, while also perhaps the issue that has experienced the most polarization in recent years. Therefore, understanding the way broader global politics manifest through tools such as social media and consequently impact policy making, becomes integral to effectively fighting the climate crisis. While climate change must be countered through effective mitigation and adaptation approaches at the local, national and global levels, implementing effective policies to do so can only be accomplished through buy-in by a critical mass of citizens. Disinformation campaigns have, however, increasingly been targeted at issues that fall along partisan lines and climate change has been a particularly polarizing issue. Research presented in this paper demonstrates ways in which efforts to misinform and disinform the public are becoming both increasingly prevalent as well as effective. The polarization that is being stoked by misinformation campaigns on social media is the most serious threat to fighting climate change. New policies and approaches for policy development and implementation will be required to match the alacrity of the proliferating online flows of misinformation and disinformation.
Topic:: Climate Change, Governance, Disinformation, and Polarization
Political Geography:: Global Focus

40. New Logics for Governing Human Discourse in the Online Era

Author:: Richard Reisman
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: The democratization of access to online media tools is driving a transformation of human discourse that is disrupting freedom of thought. This shift in the flow of thought is being encoded into a global infrastructure dominated by commercial platform companies whose operations co-opt individual, collective and governmental agency. In this policy brief, Richard Reisman argues that attempts to govern these tools are relying on “yesterday’s logic.” The new logic, largely unrecognized, relates to acceleration of word-of-mouth propagation, much like rumouring, putting the listener’s freedom of impression, rather than the speaker’s freedom of expression, at the fore. Reisman writes that governance is needed to restore individual and community agency, which could re-energize the vision of technology as “bicycles for our minds,” enabling individuals and society to flourish and maintain resilience in an increasingly challenging world.
Topic:: Governance, Democracy, Internet, Emerging Technology, and Discourse
Political Geography:: Global Focus

41. Political Challenges and Current Threats of Internet Fragmentation

Author:: Vladimer Svanadze
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Georgian Foundation for Strategic International Studies -GFSIS
Abstract:: The positive process of rapid development of the Internet and Internet technologies is accompanied by certain risks that pose a threat to the unity and security of the global Internet network, its stability and sustainable growth. Although the unity, security, and stable development of the global Internet are important issues acknowledged by countries within the United Nations framework, some nations persist in creating a national-level Internet policy. This policy aims to control both domestic and external users of the Internet space, seeking to gain an advantage at the international level in using the Internet space as a tool of enforcement. This approach contributes to the fragmentation of the Internet into distinct parts, posing obstacles to its unity and stability. The article aims to demonstrate the political influence of individual countries on Internet fragmentation and, consequently, the potential threats such fragmentation poses to the unity, security, and stable development of the global Internet. To begin, when addressing the unity, security, and stability of the global Internet network, it is essential to reference the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) convened by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. This forum was preceded by the adoption of the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society in 2005, which played a pivotal role in shaping the discourse. The agenda notably defined the term “Internet governance” and acknowledged the collaborative involvement of stakeholders in various capacities. Specifically, the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society states, “Internet governance is the development and application by governments, the private sector, and civil society of their roles, common principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programs that shape the evolution and use of the Internet” (Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, 2005).
Topic:: Development, Science and Technology, Governance, and Internet
Political Geography:: Global Focus

42. Good Governance and Rule of Law Effect on GDP Growth: Lessons for Emerging Economies

Author:: Esat A. Durguti, Avni Alidemaj, and Anatolijs Krivins
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:: Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:: The overall aim of this article is to explore the effect of governance parameters on gross domestic product (GDP) in the 15 countries of the European Union (EU15) as well as the 6 countries of Southeast Europe (SEE6). The research employed the dynamic methodology generalized methods of moments (GMM) to explore the data gathered from the World Bank and the Global Economy database stretching 2000 - 2022, correspondingly 2008 - 2022. Our analyzed result for EU15 confirms that regulatory quality (RQ), government effectiveness (GE), and rule of law (RL) positively influence GDP; instead, control of corruption (CC) negatively influences GDP. The results obtained for SEE6 reveal that GE and CC positively influence GDP, but instead, the RL negatively influences GDP. Additionally, RQ in the SEE6 instance has shown an insignificant influence on GDP. Unfortunately, the study could not cover every country in both panel groups because of data limitations. Regarding the study’s conclusions, increased dedication to applying and undertaking reform measures for the key governance indicators for SEE6 countries would be helpful. These insights may raise the need to create specific mechanisms for the RL and CC. Compared to other research, the novelty and originality of the present research lies in the fact that it used panel data via the dynamic GMM approach to explore the role of improving government quality metrics in GDP.
Topic:: Corruption, Governance, GDP, Economic Growth, and Emerging Economies
Political Geography:: Global Focus

43. Challenges of Global Health Governance Amid the Growing Use of Force in the World

Author:: Alina Chesnokova
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:: East View Information Services
Abstract:: Natural disasters and armed conflicts have accompanied human existence throughout history, always leading to spikes in mortality and morbidity. However, in recent years, the scale and scope of these events have noticeably increased. Since the 1990s, such events annually affect around 217 million people, forcing them to live under conditions of extreme instability and humanitarian crises.1 Despite this, in recent decades, global health management measures amid humanitarian crises caused by armed conflicts have not led to increased equity and quality in the provision of medical care and services in affected areas. Armed conflicts have a profound impact on the architecture of health governance. Military actions often result in the destruction of health care infrastructure, including hospitals, clinics, and essential medical supply chains. Such widespread disruptions hinder the delivery of basic medical services, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Largescale population displacement is the most common consequence of armed conflicts, resulting in the creation of refugee camps and pressure on host communities. This situation exacerbates health issues, as overcrowding promotes the spread of infectious diseases, compounded by the concurrent collapse of health care systems. Conflicts restrict or complicate the provision of humanitarian aid, impeding the delivery of essential medical supplies, vaccines, and medical personnel to affected areas. The psychological consequences of armed conflict always extend beyond physical injuries, with mental health issues becoming increasingly common.
Topic:: Governance, Humanitarian Crisis, Armed Conflict, WHO, Global Health, and Disease
Political Geography:: Middle East, Palestine, Syria, and Global Focus

44. The UN Summit of the Future: Neither breakthrough nor breakdown

Author:: Katja Creutz
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:: The complex and interconnected governance challenges facing the world have led the UN to convene a Summit of the Future. Despite the tense international political climate, the aim is for UN member states to come together to lay out a roadmap for transforming global governance.
Topic:: United Nations, Governance, Geopolitics, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

45. Responsible Change: How Governments Can Address Environmental, Social and Governance Challenges When Petroleum Assets Change Hands

Author:: Nicola Woodroffe
Publication Date:: 02-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:: As the world moves toward a future beyond oil and gas, petroleum assets will change hands, with different kinds of companies replacing others. Since 2014, around USD 88 billion in assets have moved from publicly listed to private companies. The roles of sub-Saharan African and Latin American companies in their home countries have expanded. Globally, the role of national oil companies (NOCs) is growing. NOCs have acquired around $24 billion in assets from non-NOCs since 2014. The growing role of private and local companies and NOCs potentially gives producer countries greater control over their petroleum sectors, including the pace of an eventual phaseout. However, these companies often have less capacity and fewer transparency, environmental, social and governance commitments than publicly listed international companies. This increases the risk that these companies’ operations will negatively impact the environment and communities, and that they will be unable to pay for decommissioning when production ends. Many assets that sub-Saharan African and Latin American NOCs have acquired appear vulnerable to energy transition risks. Governments should exercise approval rights over asset transfers to ensure buyers have requisite capacity to operate with high standards. They should ensure transparency to allow host communities and the public to better understand transfer impacts and how the government and/or companies will manage them, and strengthen regulations to address key issues arising from transfers including emissions management and reporting, and decommissioning funding. Governments should require NOCs to make adequate disclosures about their acquisitions to ensure NOCs manage risks to the public purse.
Topic:: Environment, Oil, Governance, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:: Global Focus

46. Behind the Schemes: Anticorruption Gaps in Mining Sector Certifications

Author:: Susannah Fitzgerald, Robert Pitman, Matthieu Salomon, and Phesheya Nxumalo
Publication Date:: 11-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Natural Resource Governance Institute
Abstract:: Decisionmakers are increasingly looking to certification schemes to provide information on the sustainability of mining operations, yet these schemes have significant room for improvement regarding how they address corruption in their standards. The report assesses the content of the performance standards used by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI), the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), The Copper Mark, and Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM). Schemes address some topics, such as revenue and payments and anticorruption procedures, relatively well; this may reflect the extent to which legislation and regulations address these topics. Schemes’ standards less frequently covered other issues, such as beneficial ownership and allegations of corruption. Many schemes, and the mining companies that use them, are missing an opportunity to assess the implementation of corporate-level anticorruption policies in mine-site assessments. The quality of certification schemes’ governance and assurance processes is essential to their effectiveness, yet many fall short of best practice. This undermines their credibility. Key governance challenges include the unbalanced representation of different interests within schemes and the risk of conflicts of interest in the auditing process. Decisionmakers risk becoming overreliant on certification schemes as indicators of responsible business conduct, which may be facilitated in part by industry influence over policymaking processes. Certification schemes are not a replacement for ongoing, robust due diligence into the environmental, social, and governance impacts of mining operations, including corruption, and the design and enforcement of robust regulatory frameworks. In a shifting standards landscape where there are efforts to both consolidate and review existing certification schemes, and a moment where the risk of corruption is heightened by growing demand for transition minerals, governments, mining companies, and certification schemes themselves must do more to address the topic of corruption. To do so effectively, they should focus their attention on solutions that will have the most impact in addressing this issue.
Topic:: Corruption, Environment, Governance, Accountability, Mining, Transparency, and Minerals
Political Geography:: Global Focus

47. Climate Change Adaptation in Areas Beyond Government Control: Opportunities and Limitations

Author:: Karen Meijer and Ann-Sophie Böhle
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Abstract:: Areas beyond government control constitute a highly diverse subgroup of fragile and conflict-affected settings. As a result of conflict and weak governance, many of these areas have become more vulnerable to climate change. Their communities have been left with limited capacity to respond to changing climatic conditions and extreme weather events. These settings pose unique challenges for external engagement and have, therefore, long been overlooked in adaptation efforts. This SIPRI Insights on Peace and Security explores both opportunities for and limitations of climate change adaptation in areas beyond government control. By highlighting the diversity of these settings and the range of possible adaptation measures, the paper proposes a framework with four guiding questions designed to help identify context-appropriate adaptation options.
Topic:: Climate Change, Development, Governance, and Adaptation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

48. Impacts of Artificial Intelligence on Governance in the Context of Ongoing Digitalization

Author:: Erkan Saka
Publication Date:: 10-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:: This policy brief will examine the impact of artificial intelligence on governance in the context of ongoing digital transformation, reflect on how to balance between leveraging AI’s benefits and maintaining a human-centered approach to governance and develop recommendations.
Topic:: Governance, Artificial Intelligence, and Digitalization
Political Geography:: Global Focus

49. Urban Governance and Responsible Artificial Intelligence Interaction for Local Democracy

Author:: Itır Akdoğan
Publication Date:: 08-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:: This policy brief discusses how the interaction of responsible artificial intelligence (RAI) and urban governance can democratize cities while providing policy recommendations.
Topic:: Governance, Democracy, Artificial Intelligence, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Global Focus

50. The Journey of Data in Gender Equality: Examples from Turkey Demographic and Health Surveys

Author:: Iknur Yüksel-Kaptanoğlu
Publication Date:: 04-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:: This brief prepared within the scope of the Exploring Data for Gender Equal Cities project carried out with the support of the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, presents the gender equality sensitivity progress in the journey of data from the research question to the advocacy stage.
Topic:: Governance, Inequality, Sustainability, and Gender
Political Geography:: Global Focus

51. New Approaches to Data Production for Monitoring and Mitigating Gender Inequality

Author:: Özge Aktaş Mazman
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:: This brief prepared within the scope of the Exploring Data for Gender Equal Cities project carried out with the support of the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, presents new perspectives.
Topic:: Governance, Inequality, Sustainability, Data, and Gender
Political Geography:: Global Focus

52. The End of Asylum? Evolving the Protection System to Meet 21st Century Challenges

Author:: Susan Fratzke, Meghan Benton, Andrew Selee, Emma Dorst, and Samuel Davidoff-Gore
Publication Date:: 07-2024
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: The international protection regime is under increasingly untenable pressure, and the obsolescence of the policy architecture on which it relies is becoming more and more apparent. The territorial asylum system, which requires asylum seekers to reach another country’s territory in order to seek protection, has proven itself to be a blunt tool with which to address the protection challenges of the 21st century. New crises, protracted displacement situations, and expanding norms about who merits protection have created a growing population of individuals in need of humanitarian protection. At the same time, other mobility pressures—including those rooted in demographic shifts, economic inequality, and climate change—have produced high levels of mixed migration, adding to the strain on border and asylum adjudication systems. This report, which concludes the Beyond Territorial Asylum: Making Protection Work in a Bordered World initiative led by MPI and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, sets out a vision for the ongoing evolution of the international protection system, with a focus on the future of asylum. It analyzes promising developments and best-in-class ideas around facilitating orderly entry, ensuring system efficiency, and building regional capacity, and how these elements could foster a system that is better at providing protection for those who need it and at securing public trust by reducing chaos at borders and within public systems that must manage migration.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Governance, Borders, Asylum, and Protection
Political Geography:: Global Focus

53. Data Disquiet: Concerns about the Governance of Data for Generative AI

Author:: Susan Ariel Aaronson
Publication Date:: 03-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: The growing popularity of large language models (LLMs) has raised concerns about their accuracy. These chatbots can be used to provide information, but it may be tainted by errors or made-up or false information (hallucinations) caused by problematic data sets or incorrect assumptions made by the model. The questionable results produced by chatbots has led to growing disquiet among users, developers and policy makers. The author argues that policy makers need to develop a systemic approach to address these concerns. The current piecemeal approach does not reflect the complexity of LLMs or the magnitude of the data upon which they are based, therefore, the author recommends incentivizing greater transparency and accountability around data-set development.
Topic:: Governance, Artificial Intelligence, Data Governance, Large Language Models (LLMs), and Generative Models
Political Geography:: Global Focus

54. Warlord-Islamist Competition: A Comparison of Support Structures

Author:: Hamza Deniz Kobus
Publication Date:: 06-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:: Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:: Warlord armies and Islamist groups are two types of violent non-state actors that frequently compete against each other in situations of internal conflict. This article strives to compare these actor types with regards to their internal and external sources of support. Examination of the consistent conflicts in Somalia and Afghanistan suggests that different support structures assist the armed groups with various resources for divergent reasons. The most salient pattern identifiable in the case studies indicates that local populations tend to support Islamist groups due to shared religious identities and desires for lasting governance. The non-ideological and pragmatic orientation of warlords on the other hand seems to attract backing primarily by international actors seeking influence in internal conflicts. While further research has to corroborate the findings, they indicate possible implications for military interventions in situations that are shaped by warlord-Islamist competition.
Topic:: Non State Actors, Governance, Islamism, Armed Conflict, Competition, and Warlords
Political Geography:: Global Focus

55. Social determinants of corruption at the local level

Author:: Waldemar Wojtasik and Łukasz Trembaczowski
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:: Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:: Although the phenomenon of corruption is sometimes viewed through the prism of legal or economic issues, at its core it is a social phenomenon. Contemporary studies on corruption draw attention to its relationship with the issue of trust. The typological model of the relationship between trust and corruption provided the analytical framework for the described studies. Relating the types of corruption to objects of trust creates a perspective in which the perception of corruption by officials is an area of particular interest. The described research presents the perception of various dimensions of political corruption by local government officials. The juxtaposition of the assessed corruption phenomena indicates their interconnectedness in the perception of the respondents, thereby emphasizing the importance of accountability of political authorities.
Topic:: Corruption, Crime, Government, Governance, and Trust
Political Geography:: Global Focus

56. Feminist Technology Diplomacy: An FFP Approach to Artificial Intelligence

Author:: Elise Stephenson and Isobel Barry
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Women's Development Agency (IWDA)
Abstract:: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly gained global momentum, with technological developments spurred on by generative AI and increased automation across military, medical, humanitarian, and educational domains, hastening the need to prioritise good international governance. To realise the gains whilst mitigating the risks of AI, robust governance frameworks are required to which feminist foreign policy (FFP) approaches are relevant. AI regulation that focuses on mitigating harms toward minoritised groups, particularly women, should be a critical priority for governments and international organisations. Failing to address these issues risks disenfranchising half the global population, ultimately leading to missed opportunities for gains in productivity and efficiency driven by AI advancements.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Governance, Women, Feminism, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:: Global Focus

57. Rights and Responsibilities: Understanding the impact of the tech industry on economic inequality

Author:: Meg Roggensack, Gawain Kripke, Michael Borum, and Hana Ivanhoe
Publication Date:: 10-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: Digital technologies have the potential to either ameliorate or worsen the dynamics underlying poverty and inequality, depending on how those technologies are designed, developed, deployed, and used, as well as on the degree to which the businesses, and business models behind them, respect the rights of users and workers. This paper recommends changes in corporate and government policies and practices to ensure that the information and communication technology (ICT) industry respects human rights and does not exacerbate poverty and economic inequality across five pillars: access and equity, digital civic space, data use and privacy, automation and the future of work, and governance.
Topic:: Human Rights, Poverty, Science and Technology, Governance, and Economic Inequality
Political Geography:: Global Focus

58. Small States and the Multilateral System: Transforming Global Governance for a Better Future

Author:: Adam Lupel, Kaewkamol Karen Pitakdumrongkit, and Joel Ng
Publication Date:: 09-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:: Small states play a critical role in upholding and advancing multilateralism and international law in the face of growing geopolitical tensions and global challenges. Representing the majority of UN member states, these countries broadly agree on the need to uphold international law, support multilateral cooperation and the institutions of global order, and adhere to the “purposes and principles” of the UN Charter. This paper explores why small states remain committed to the multilateral system, emphasizing that their limited military and economic power makes rules-based international cooperation essential for their security and development. Small states have played an active role in championing international law, serving as agents of international peace and security, protecting and managing shared resources, and bringing issues related to emerging technologies to the forefront of international diplomacy. The paper also examines some of the tools small states have used to craft multilateral responses to frontier issues, including by leveraging their expertise in specific areas, chairing multilateral negotiations, building coalitions to advance their interests, and serving as impartial mediators. Looking to the future, the paper concludes that small states can and should be catalysts for change, offering a path forward amid geopolitical tensions between larger states. Following the adoption of the Pact for the Future in September 2024, small states can consider several priorities to help implement the pact and build a stronger multilateral system for the benefit of all: Reinforce the fundamental principles of international cooperation: Small states should lead and mobilize all member states in recommitting to their obligations under the UN Charter. Expand and strengthen diverse cross-regional coalitions for global governance: Small states should continue to leverage UN processes to widen the group of countries invested in overcoming polarization. Promote information sharing and capacity building: Small states that have the means and subject-matter expertise should redouble their efforts to pool resources and knowledge to build up other states’ capacities. Revamp working methods: Small states should work together to put forward their views on how to revamp and update the working methods of different UN organs. Update the peace and security toolbox: Small states need to be involved in updating the UN’s peace and security toolbox in areas such as mediation, preventive diplomacy, and peacebuilding. Prioritize inclusiveness on new and emerging technologies: If harnessed properly, digitalization and new and emerging technologies could help small states grow their influence. Embed future thinking: Small states should inject their views into the gamut of “forward-looking” and “long-term” conversations taking place at the UN.
Topic:: International Law, United Nations, Governance, Geopolitics, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:: Global Focus

59. Aligning ESG and SDGs at the Urban Level

Author:: Kris Hartley
Publication Date:: 08-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Abstract:: This report outlines how cities and the private sector can collaborate on and magnify sustainability efforts that enable broad systemic change. Sustainability efforts require not only public policy interventions and resources but also the initiative and innovation of the private sector. These are systematized through the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for governments, including at the city level, and through environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles for companies. Bringing these two approaches into alignment is a crucial step for fostering multi-sectoral sustainability effort, but this alignment is largely unrealized. Among the local-government sustainability documents examined for this report, mentions of corporate activity are minimal and often superficial, primarily addressing the participation of companies in multi-stakeholder discussions about policy issues. In turn, ESG reports center on the decisions and actions of corporations, with public governance referenced largely in the context of regulatory limitations and policy objectives that affect business operations. Local governments and companies are undertaking sustainability efforts in their own ways. Merging the two through shared focus and strategy can magnify sustainability efforts in ways that enable the broad systemic change needed to avert climate crisis and societal disruption. This report outlines how a more collaborative approach can proceed, first by providing an overview of policy and corporate sustainability efforts and second by detailing examples of both. The report concludes with a discussion about how sustainability narratives can be harmonized between the two sectors.
Topic:: Environment, United Nations, Governance, Sustainable Development Goals, Private Sector, Cities, Society, and Public-Private Partnership
Political Geography:: Global Focus

60. Las políticas de seguridad y defensa como valor público y bien común

Author:: Xavier Torrens
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: Una nueva perspectiva de la seguridad y la defensa centradaen el enfoque de bienes comunes abre la puerta a una relaciónentre Estado y sociedadcon gobernanza. De hecho, se trata deuna nueva forma de legitimación políticadel uso de la fuerza para garantizar la seguridadrealzándola como bien común(Ostrom, 1900) y como valor público (Moore, 1998). En el escenario actual de riesgos, cada vez la política de seguridad se desarrolla más allá de lo que algunos han llamado en decir lo estrictamente securitario. En este sentido, la teoría de los bienes comunes es un marco conceptual clave para comprender la transformación y el cambio de paradigma en las políticas de seguridad. Las cuestiones que se plantean en este monográfico giran en torno al marco teórico-conceptual de los bienes comunes, o bien a algunos de sus elementos. Desde la perspectiva de los bienes comunes, la seguridady la defensa, y sus políticaspúblicas, tienen en cuenta el valor que se crea a partir de las dinámicas entre distintos actores.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Governance, and Society
Political Geography:: Global Focus

61. Climate change and security: Preparing for different impacts

Author:: Emma Hakala
Publication Date:: 09-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:: As the disastrous impacts of climate change are already visible, the need to respond to them becomes increasingly urgent. Yet there is still a lack of understanding about the comprehensive security impacts of climate change. Climate security impacts tend to be complex as they often take shape through chains of compounded effects. This makes them difficult to fully comprehend, and in the absence of adequate situational awareness, policy responses are likely to fall short. The paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of climate security by providing concrete illustrations of potential direct, cascading and transition impacts. Impacts like forest fires, a heatwave in Europe and increased wind energy production all challenge Finland’s security in various ways, such as threatening human health and livelihoods, fuelling political polarisation and creating new supply chain risks. Strategic foresight, international cooperation and well-planned climate policy can help to counteract climate risks.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Climate Change, and Governance
Political Geography:: Global Focus

62. Cities as global actors: Bringing governance closer to the people

Author:: Katja Creutz
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:: Globalization and extensive urbanization worldwide have brought cities to the forefront of global governance in a multilateral system designed and created for states. Cities have come to exercise power due in part to the inadequacy or ineffectiveness of inter-state action, but also because their democratic nature and immediate connection to the population make them legitimate actors. Cities are also home to many problems of a global nature, such as greenhouse gas emissions, pandemics, and sustainability. This makes them uniquely situated to address these challenges. City diplomacy has become a prevalent feature in many global policy issues, ranging from climate change to development cooperation. The primary tool through which cities act is networking, with hundreds of global city networks pursuing the interests and values of their constituencies. By demanding a seat at the table where global affairs are decided upon, cities challenge and complement the state-based international order, in addition to which they stretch the basic concepts and constructs of both international relations and international law.
Topic:: Globalization, International Law, Governance, Democracy, and Cities
Political Geography:: Global Focus

63. The Involvement of Civil Society Organizations in Arctic Governance

Author:: Emilie Broek, Nicholas Olczak, and Lisa Dellmuth
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Abstract:: The Arctic is faced with growing environmental and geopolitical challenges, which require international governance involving a range of actors. Existing research has a limited understanding of the role played by civil society organizations (CSOs) in the emerging governance of the region. This SIPRI Insights paper has reviewed the existing literature and used novel survey data to analyse the involvement of CSOs in terms of their roles and their beliefs in Arctic governance. It finds that CSOs monitor agreements and push for regional accountability, support the implementation of policies, engage in advocacy work, support information sharing and provide input during geopolitical crises. It also finds that CSOs have weak levels of belief in the legitimacy of Arctic governance institutions, or in the appropriateness and impact of their governance of the region. Based on these findings, the paper makes recommendations for the further involvement of CSOs in Arctic governance.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Civil Society, Governance, Geopolitics, and Institutions
Political Geography:: Arctic and Global Focus

64. Health Financing in Times of Multiple Crises: Analysis and Recommendations

Author:: Christoph Strupat, Pooja Balasubramanian, Srinivasa Reddy Srigiri, and Anna-Katharina Hornidge
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of health systems and highlights the need for renewed efforts to finance pandemic preparedness, prevention and response (PPR) mechanisms, and universal health coverage (UHC). Two lessons emerge from this global health challenge. First, it has shown that global problems need global solutions, as well as the agency of local and national actors to make them work, so it is recommended that public health be considered a global public good. This requires solidarity between rich and poor countries to attain a globally “highest attainable standard” for managing pandemics and other public health emergencies. The provision of such a global public good requires substantial public resources. Furthermore, the focus should not only be on preventing the spread of diseases but also on detecting and fighting infectious diseases at their source. The second lesson is that prevention is a good investment, as it costs less than remedial interventions at later stages. Health systems can be considered as the means by which health priorities, such as pandemic PPR and UHC, can be operationalised. Studies show that health systems that could effectively leverage both robust health security core capacities (e.g. laboratories) and fundamental UHC interventions (e.g. accessible health facilities) were often in a better position to protect their citizens against the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on the landscape of health financing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), it becomes clear that during the COVID-19 pandemic there was a substantial increase in international health financing. However, continued high out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) in LMICs points to a structural imbalance in health financing, which is one of the major barriers for achieving SDG3. Further contribution from international development assistance and an increase in domestic government expenditure by LMICs through improved mobilisation of domestic resources is therefore impera-tive. Funding gaps to achieve PPR and UHC in LMICs are small in relation to the projected costs of a pandemic such as COVID-19. However, as global debt levels soar, fiscal spaces to close these funding gaps become smaller. The following policy options for governments and international development partners should be considered to protect and improve spending on health in times of shrinking fiscal spaces: reallocation within budgets towards health, better priority-setting of health financing, and greater use of debt-to-health swaps, health taxes and national health insurance schemes. Importantly, investment in health is critical not just for the health benefits, but also because of the positive socio-economic impacts that result, in excess of the level of investment. Improved well-being and health outcomes translate into higher productivity and income, with a benefit–cost ratio of nine for low-income countries and 20 for lower-middle income countries. Given the high rates of unemployment in many LMICs, investments that create jobs in the healthcare sector are also beneficial for other sectors. Evidence shows that for every healthcare professional job that is created, 3.4 jobs are created on average in other sectors. As a large proportion of healthcare workers is female, these new jobs can be an opportunity for young women, in particular, and can help to promote female empowerment and gender equality. Altogether, these long-term benefits affirm that investment in health can enable large spillover effects on the social and economic dimensions of sustainable development and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Topic:: Health, Governance, Finance, Crisis Management, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Global Focus

65. Governing the Ocean

Author:: Christophe Prazuck
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:: The sea is a far away place, so immense as to be abstract: you don't live there, you don't vote there, you don't own private property there. Understanding its importance, its link with our daily lives, understanding Fernand Braudel's phrase "the sea is wealth", is not the result of instinct, of familiarity with a land, it is always the result of an intellectual construction. It is perhaps tinged with fascination too, for poets and novelists, for walkers along the "Sentier des Douaniers" in a strong westerly breeze. Doubling as wonder, certainly, for the scientists who unlock the splendours of marine biology (the appearance of life in the primordial soup, the creation of an oxygenated atmosphere by unicellular algae, the key to nerve impulses discovered in the eye of a squid, etc.) or who examine the immeasurable power of the mechanisms and chemistry of the ocean, such as the meandering Gulf Stream, whose flow is greater than that of all the rivers on earth combined, or the quantity of heat retained in the first three metres of the ocean, which is greater than that contained in the entire atmosphere. But if the European Union, this maritime giant in the making, is taking an interest in ocean issues, and if the United Nations has made this decade that of the ocean sciences for sustainable development, it is because the ocean's state of health, our knowledge of it and the efficacy of our governance, will determine a part of our future. Indeed, the ocean is at the crossroads of a number of decisive pathways. Firstly, the path of climate change, since the ocean mitigates this as it absorbs 25% of the carbon dioxide[1] we emit and 90% of the excess heat generated by the greenhouse effect[2]. In the process, it is changing, warming, expanding, acidifying and 'deoxygenating': as its ecosystems are affected, it will probably lose some of its effectiveness as a climate shield. Secondly, the path of biodiversity which is under the threat of the combined effects of climate, marine pollution and over-exploitation, the disruption of which could affect the hundreds of millions of humans who depend on fish stocks, and lead to the disappearance forever of the biological treasures forged by evolution, which teach us about life and its development as well as our own physiology, our own pathologies and, sometimes, their remedies. Thirdly, the coastal pathway, where low-lying areas will be home to a billion human beings by 2050, while sea levels will rise, encroaching on coastal areas and amplifying the impact of extreme weather phenomena. Fourthly, the economic path which places the ocean at the centre of all our commercial and digital exchanges, globalisation being first and foremost a maritimisation of the world. Finally, the trajectory of power, which uses the seas as a stage for competition for global or regional hegemony.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Climate Change, Governance, and Oceans and Seas
Political Geography:: Global Focus

66. Improving Stakeholder Coordination in Refugee Resettlement: A Path to More Effective, Inclusive Programs

Author:: Admir Skodo and Maria Belen Zanzuchi
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: ach year, refugee resettlement programs offer a path to safety for only a tiny share of people forced to flee their country amid persecution, war, or violence. Efforts to expand these programs have largely stalled, in part because they are operating in a context of multiple crises (ranging from the COVID-19 pandemic to large-scale displacement from countries such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Venezuela) that have created competing policy demands. But another major factor that has constrained resettlement programs’ growth is the difficulty of effectively coordinating the work of the many stakeholders involved in these systems. This often includes different levels of government, civil-society and community actors, and international organizations, which frequently have different priorities, are involved at different points in the resettlement process, and may not be used to working together. This report explores the diversity of stakeholders involved in refugee resettlement, and the importance of robust coordination at all stages of the process (from program design to predeparture planning and post-arrival support). It also examines what coordination mechanisms exist—or could be created—to organize the work of these many actors. The analysis draws on interviews with local, regional, national, and international stakeholders, primarily from Argentina, Finland, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United States.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Governance, Refugees, Resettlement, and Inclusion
Political Geography:: Global Focus

67. The Future of Standardized Sustainability Reporting

Author:: Tia Rebecca Driver, Amr ElAlfy, and Olaf Weber
Publication Date:: 05-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: Regulators and stakeholders demand reliable, valid and comparable information about a company’s operations — and increasingly, not only its financial performance, but its non-financial impacts on society and the natural environment. Accordingly, regulators and reporting entities have developed sustainability reporting standards, but these are grounded in different reporting goals and sometimes in conflict. In this paper, Tia Rebecca Driver, Amr ElAlfy and Olaf Weber contribute to the current discussion of standardized sustainability reporting by analyzing the landscape of reporting frameworks and their governance bodies, which oversee and work on the standardization of sustainability reporting. They provide contextual background on the governance of sustainability reporting by comparing the prominent reporting frameworks to understand how they complement or conflict with one another. They then investigate the impact of mandatory reporting and materiality to understand how these concepts could influence the application and extensiveness of a composite reporting standard. Finally, the authors provide policy makers with recommendations that facilitate a standardized reporting approach that centres on sustainable development.
Topic:: Governance, Regulation, Sustainability, Standards, and Reporting
Political Geography:: Global Focus

68. Supporting Safer Digital Spaces

Author:: Suzie Dunn, Tracy Vaillancourt, and Heather Brittain
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: Various forms of digital technology are being used to inflict significant harms online. This is a pervasive issue in online interactions, in particular with regard to technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) and technology-facilitated violence (TFV) against LGBTQ+ people. This modern form of violence perpetuates gender inequality and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and has significant impacts on its targets. As part of a multi-year research project Supporting a Safer Internet (in partnership with the International Development Research Centre) exploring the prevalence and impacts of TFGBV experienced by women, transgender, gender non-conforming and gender-diverse people, as well as TFV against LGBTQ+ individuals, an international survey was conducted by Ipsos on behalf of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). The survey examined the influence of gender and sexual orientation on people’s experiences with online harms, with a focus on countries in the Global South. Data was collected from 18,149 people of all genders in 18 countries. The special report provides background information on TFGBV and TFV against LGBTQ+ people by summarizing some of the existing research on the topic. It then presents the quantitative data collected on people’s experiences with, and opinions on, online harms. A list of recommendations is provided for governments, technology companies, academics, researchers and civil society organizations on how they can contribute to addressing and ending TFV.
Topic:: Governance, Internet, Violence, LGBT+, Gender, and Digital Space
Political Geography:: Global Focus

69. Digitalization of Payments and Currency

Author:: Robert Fay, Keldon Bester, David Dodge, Serge Dupont, Mark Jewett, John Murray, and Laurie Wright
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: As a growing number of countries adopt digital payments and currencies, the Centre for International Governance Innovation and Bennett Jones LLP hosted a virtual workshop on March 7, 2023, to discuss the implications for Canada. Building on their previous work in related fields, participants including Canadian and international experts from the public and private sectors as well as from academia explored four topics: payments system modernization, open banking, stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. Creating a trustworthy digital financial system in which Canadians can conduct personal and business transactions in a reliable way is key to Canada’s successful adoption of digital payments and currencies.
Topic:: Governance, Central Bank, Currency, Innovation, Conference, Digitalization, and Digital Currency
Political Geography:: Global Focus

70. Interplanetary Internet Governance

Author:: Laura DeNardis
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: The internet has spread to most parts of the world and is now making the leap into space. An interplanetary or solar-system internet will require a governance system that can manage the economic, political and social issues that may arise. To address these issues, internet governance will need multi-stakeholder participation from traditional governments, international organizations and the private sector. This paper looks at the challenges facing the development of a space-based internet architecture and how existing UN space governance treaties and terrestrial internet governance could help mitigate these risks.
Topic:: Treaties and Agreements, Governance, Internet, and Stakeholders
Political Geography:: Global Focus and Space

71. The Governance Gap: Preparing Professions for Digital Transformation

Author:: Sean Martin McDonald and Ben Gansky
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: How do professional governance organizations teach their members, such as those who work in health care, law or urban planning, how to navigate digital transformation in their fields of practice? This paper looks at the governance gap created by the increasing role of digital technology in regulated professions, the participation process for setting professional standards and the education infrastructure to teach new professionals how to navigate both. The authors’ recommendations focus on the role of professional education programs (degree-granting programs that train students to become a certified professional). The authors argue that bridging the gap between digitally transformed professional practice and professional governance will require training new professionals to do so.
Topic:: Governance, Training, Professions, and Digital Transformation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

72. Climate Change: A Global Governance Challenge, Requiring Local Specific Responses - The Challenge of Formulating a Successful Response at The Appropriate Governance Level

Author:: Christian Ploberger
Publication Date:: 07-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The Rest: Journal of Politics and Development
Institution:: Centre for Strategic Research and Analysis (CESRAN)
Abstract:: While Climate Change is a global phenomenon, the impact it generates is locally specific. Take, for example, the issue of sea-level rise. While we can identify a general process of sea-level rise, some localities are facing stronger impacts than others; this applies not only to island nations but also to coastal areas and coastal cities, including several so-called Megacities. Or take the issue of temperature increase, as some areas will experience more heatwaves or longer and more intensive periods of droughts. A comparable argument can be made in regard to intense rainfall and floods. Consequently, a critical issue is how to address global climate change by formulating a response at the global level or by formulating a variety of specific strategies at the local level. Yet, while some localities may react faster because of the threat they are exposed to, local-specific responses alone will be less likely to generate the scale effect required to arrest the global climate dynamic. Hence, at what level, local or global, should strategies formulated to address climate change represent a key issue. One may argue that a combination of responses at all three levels may offer a successful response, though this would raise the issue of how to integrate all three levels into one strategy
Topic:: Civil Society, Climate Change, Governance, and State
Political Geography:: Global Focus

73. Research Report: Women’s Meaningful Participation in Post-Conflict: Mechanisms and Challenges in Colombia, Nepal and South Sudan

Author:: Jocelyne Enriquez, Ali Foote, Alani Frace, Pía Madanes Quintanilla, and Siaira Milroy
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP)
Abstract:: The inclusion of women in peace processes and post-conflict governance has been shown to have positive effects on the duration of peace and on social inclusion.1 For instance, women representatives might encourage an increase of resources spent on public services rather than on the military2 and they improve public perceptions of the government which contributes to preventing conflict relapse.3 These conflict-prevention effects are highly desirable, reinforcing the call for the participation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional, and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict. This is reinforced by United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution (SCR) 1325 and subsequent resolutions on women’s participation in peace processes: SCRs 1889 (2013), 2122 (2013), 2242 (2015), and 2493 (2019). Post-conflict peacebuilding contexts generate opportunities for women advocates to demand the presence of women in decision-making spaces and the wider public sphere,4 which contributes to women’s empowerment.5 Research on the correlation between the end of war and women’s increased political participation further illustrates this point. Tripp’s 2015 research6 on Africa and Berry’s 2018 research7 in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina have found that conflict resolution in these contexts have had positive effects on women’s political agency.
Topic:: Governance, Women, Participation, Post-Conflict, and Peacebuilding
Political Geography:: Colombia, Nepal, South Sudan, and Global Focus

74. Mind the Gap: The Challenges of Assurance for Artificial Intelligence

Author:: Isaac Gazendam and Philip Dawson
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University
Abstract:: Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities have progressed rapidly since defeating human players at board games. From voice assistants to chatbots, image filters to multi-modal content generation, AI is accelerating individual, commercial, and scientific purposes. The development of increasingly advanced AI systems, each with unique strengths and vulnerabilities, has also made assessing and managing AI risk a daunting prospect. Controls do exist. A variety of stakeholders have made strides in proposing tools and methods to govern AI systems. A common approach applied across these attempts is based on assurance, a collection of approaches and techniques that aim to measure the quality, reliability, and trustworthiness of AI products, services, organizations, or professionals. To some extent, governments are relying on assurance-based approaches to govern AI – from assessments and audit to certification – regardless of whether they have plans to develop AI regulations. Yet the AI assurance ecosystem remains nascent. Frameworks for AI assessments and audits are still evolving, as are supporting standards and accreditation criteria for third-party auditors, reviewers and evaluators. In some cases, it is now possible to apply certain assurance mechanisms to the governance of narrower applications of AI and related organizational processes. However, assurance-based approaches to more advanced systems based on large language models (LLMs) or generative models remain in their infancy.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Governance, Regulation, Artificial Intelligence, and Large Language Models (LLMs)
Political Geography:: Global Focus

75. Assessing ESG Risks in National Oil Companies: Transcending ESG Ratings with a Better Understanding of Governance

Author:: Luisa Palacios and Catarina Vidotto Caricati
Publication Date:: 05-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Columbia University
Abstract:: National oil companies (NOCs) produce about half of the world’s oil, hold more than half of its refining capacity, and own the bulk of oil and gas reserves. Most of these companies come from emerging markets and depend heavily on international capital to finance their operations. As financial institutions consider more carefully environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks in their investment decisions, an accurate assessment of the ESG performance of NOCs will be vital. Assessment of ESG risks in NOCs is currently hobbled by both the considerable divergence in ESG ratings for any given company and the complex nature of NOCs’ state ownership structure, which isn’t always readily encapsulated in ESG scores. A clearer picture of these companies’ ESG performance could be useful to investors. This paper, part of the Financing the Energy Transition initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, aims to provide a better understanding of what impacts the ESG performance of NOCs in emerging markets. The authors survey ESG ratings of the largest national oil and gas companies in emerging markets for which such ratings are available, alongside the scores of some of the largest integrated oil and gas companies from advanced countries. The authors find a significant divergence in ESG scores for each single company, which raises questions about their individual stand-alone value in assessing the relative ESG performance of companies in the integrated oil and gas space. An analysis of average NOC ESG ratings—imperfect as they are—against those of international oil companies (IOCs), however, indicates much lower performance of NOCs on governance specifically (i.e., the G in ESG). Ownership by a state creates unique governance challenges—which, in turn, affect environmental and even social efforts—and deserves further exploration to determine which factors within state-owned companies can improve or impair ESG performance, to facilitate a more reliable understanding of NOCs’ ESG risks.
Topic:: Oil, Governance, Fossil Fuels, Energy Transition, and National Oil Companies
Political Geography:: Global Focus

76. Using Risk Analysis to Shape Border Management: A Review of Approaches during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author:: Kelley Lee, Julianne Piper, and Jennifer Fang
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: The near universal adoption of travel measures by governments to control the spread of COVID-19 has proved controversial during the pandemic. National responses have been highly varied and frequently changing, and the use of travel measures—ranging from advisories and screening to quarantine, testing, immunity certification, and restrictions on entry—has been poorly coordinated across jurisdictions. Particularly in the early stages of the crisis, this created chaos for travelers and the travel sector, and caused significant economic and social harms. Many governments also failed to clearly communicate the rationale for using travel measures, the evidence underpinning them, and the measures’ role within overall pandemic response strategies. There is now substantial evidence that these measures’ early and stringent use by some governments during the initial stages of the pandemic slowed the importation of the virus and reduced its onward transmission. Yet, there is also growing recognition of weaknesses in the quality of evidence available to inform policy decisions. Evaluating the appropriateness of travel measures and applying them effectively during future public-health emergencies will depend on international consensus on methodologies that lead to a more harmonized and coordinated approach and to greater public trust in policy decisions. This report presents a comparative analysis of 11 publicly available methodologies used to assess travel-related risks during the pandemic—those of Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Air Transport Association, World Health Organization, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and European Union. It offers a set of lessons learned and recommendations, including a proposed decision instrument that could improve the use of risk analysis for border management during future public-health emergencies.
Topic:: Security, International Cooperation, International Organization, Governance, Border Control, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Taiwan, South Korea, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Global Focus, and United States of America

77. External Processing: A Tool to Expand Protection or Further Restrict Territorial Asylum?

Author:: Pauline de Oliveira and Nicholas Feith Tan
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: Access to territorial asylum is under significant pressure in many corners of the world. Pushbacks at borders as well as pandemic-era mobility restrictions have prevented many asylum seekers from reaching their destinations. And new and ongoing crises, including those in Afghanistan and Ukraine, have highlighted the need to offer protection closer to where vulnerable populations live, and for high-income countries to find ways to share responsibilities with the low- and middle-income countries that host the overwhelming majority of people in need of international protection. This has led to renewed interest in external processing, which involves conducting part or all of the asylum procedure outside a destination country’s territory. Notably, even as countries such as Australia and the United Kingdom have adopted policies to offshore asylum processing to countries such as Papua New Guinea and Rwanda in hopes of deterring spontaneous arrivals, there is growing interest in using external processing in ways that complement existing territorial asylum and expand, rather than restrict, protection opportunities. This report—part of the Beyond Territorial Asylum: Making Protection Work in a Bordered World initiative led by MPI and the Robert Bosch Stiftung—highlights the opportunities that external processing offers as well as the challenges to its implementation and the risks it could pose to territorial asylum. It explores three categories of external processing policies implemented or proposed to date: humanitarian visas, emergency evacuations, and external processing centers. The report also identifies key conditions that must be present for external processing to occur in a protection-sensitive manner.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Governance, Refugees, Asylum, Visa, and Immigration Policy
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Australia, Rwanda, Papua New Guinea, and Global Focus

78. Mitigating Global Fragmentation in Digital Trade Governance: A Case Study

Author:: Douglas Lippoldt
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: Digital trade is growing rapidly, and regulators are trying to keep up. Concerns about privacy, consumer protection and national security demand regulatory attention, but too much regulation risks stifling digital trade. Current-generation trade agreements need to find the right balance between regulatory and liberal approaches to e-commerce. This paper looks at how five leading digital economies (Canada, the European Union, Japan, Singapore and the United States) are using regional trade agreements to address concerns while enhancing trade.
Topic:: Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Governance, and Digitalization
Political Geography:: Global Focus

79. Could a Global “Wicked Problems Agency” Incentivize Data Sharing?

Author:: Susan Ariel Aaronson
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: Global data sharing could help solve “wicked” problems (problems such as climate change, terrorism and global poverty that no one knows how to solve without creating further problems). There is no one or best way to address wicked problems because they have many different causes and manifest in different contexts. By mixing vast troves of data, policy makers and researchers may find new insights and strategies to address these complex problems. National and international government agencies and large corporations generally control the use of such data, and the world has made little progress in encouraging cross-sectoral and international data sharing. This paper proposes a new international cloud-based organization, the "Wicked Problems Agency," to catalyze both data sharing and data analysis in the interest of mitigating wicked problems. This organization would work to prod societal entities — firms, individuals, civil society groups and governments — to share and analyze various types of data. The Wicked Problems Agency could provide a practical example of how data sharing can yield both economic and public good benefits.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Governance, Data, and Public-Private Partnership
Political Geography:: Global Focus

80. Energy investment in a time of inflation

Author:: Charles Lichfield and Joseph Webster
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Atlantic Council
Abstract:: High rates of inflation across the world are forcing central banks to reluctantly tighten monetary policy despite accompanying recession risks. Moreover, restricted credit access could jeopardize energy investments, particularly for capital-intensive clean energy projects, potentially rendering the world more vulnerable energy to price shocks, which are a significant contributor to the current crisis. This paper briefly considers the macroeconomic drivers of inflation in late 2022, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and uncertainties around energy supply, supply-chain resets, and lingering COVID-19 disruptions, before examining the persistent energy underinvestment of the past decade and how this has left markets exposed to varying degrees. As such, this paper also considers how private capital can accelerate cleaner energy adoption, suited to different markets’ unique conditions and needs. Borrowing costs will rise, but this doesn’t have to bring the transition to a standstill. With the Great Moderation of low volatility, interest rates, and inflation perhaps a relic of the past, assets offering inflation protection, such as infrastructure, may become increasingly attractive to investors. There is a fear that global inflation will sharply curtail energy investment into emerging markets. The fear is justified. Higher interest rates in developed markets mean higher rates of return which will lure emerging markets investors back to the US and Europe. Still, it’s not all bad news for emerging markets. Quasi-state actors like Pension and Sovereign Welfare funds are interested in very long term, high-yield projects—two criteria to which emerging market energy infrastructure correspond. Disruptions to interest rates and inflation, triggered in part by energy underinvestment, will cause disparate impacts in different markets. Inflation is not, perhaps, everywhere and always a monetary phenomenon. Energy investment faltered from 2014 to 2020, despite low interest rates. Meanwhile, aggregate supply shocks—first due to COVID, then from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine—have pressured energy production and prices, raising inflation and necessitating interest rate hikes. The consequences of persistent energy underinvestment are now becoming apparent. The need for new energy infrastructure cannot be met without private investment. This was the case when inflation was lower; it is even more important now.
Topic:: Environment, Markets, Oil, Governance, Gas, Economy, Investment, Inflation, and Energy
Political Geography:: Global Focus

81. Navigating R2P Between Norm and Practice

Author:: Omar Auf
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Cairo Review of Global Affairs
Institution:: School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
Abstract:: The idea that states are responsible for the protection of their own people is a powerful normative and transformative one, but is far from complete or conclusive
Topic:: Security, Governance, Police, and Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
Political Geography:: Global Focus

82. Political Analysis of the Purchase and technology Transfer Process for Gropen Fighters

Author:: Francisco Porto Junior and Marco Antonio Alves
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy International Relations
Institution:: Postgraduate Program in International Strategic Studies, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Abstract:: This article aims to present a descriptive study from a qualitative perspective through a bibliographical analysis, according to Coutinho (2014), which aims to discuss the political process of purchase and Technology Transfer (TT) of GRIPEN NG fighters. For this, we resort to the study of the decision-making process involving interrelationships between the main actors, consensus, interests and values. The goals is to present some reflections about the results of the political game that had taken place during the FHC, Lula and Dilma governments, to verify their relationship with the neoliberal political-social project and its actors in the international sphere. As a guide for this study, questions are presented, which must be answered throughout the text referring to political actors: Who were these actors? How did political actors act? What are the reasons for their actions?
Topic:: Science and Technology, Governance, and Conflict
Political Geography:: Global Focus

83. Crossing the Divide: Rural to Urban Migration in Developing Countries

Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: Robert E.B. Lucas is Professor of Economics at Boston University. His research has focused largely, though not exclusively, on developing countries. Most of the contributions are empirical with a few theory papers, encompassing international and internal migration, employment and human resources, income distribution and inter-generational inequality, international trade and industry, sharecropping, and the environment. His publications include seven books, the most recent of which are Migration and Development: The Role for Development Aid (2019) and Crossing the Divide: Rural to Urban Migration in Developing Countries (2021).
Topic:: Development, Migration, Governance, Urban, and Rural
Political Geography:: Global Focus

84. Section 232 reloaded: the false promise of the transatlantic ‘climate club’ for steel and aluminium

Author:: David Kleimann
Publication Date:: 07-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Bruegel
Abstract:: In using the removal of Section 232 ‘national security’ tariffs on steel and aluminium imports as a bargaining chip, the United States demands that the European Union engage in negotiations on “global steel and aluminium arrangements to restore market-oriented conditions and address carbon intensity”. The US demand has reportedly been inspired by a blueprint that would establish an international institutional arrangement – labelled a ‘climate club’ – which would externalise market-access restrictions afforded by US Section 232 tariffs to the customs borders of club members. While the declared objective is to incentivise non-members to adopt low-carbon steel (and aluminium) production methods the US blueprint suffers from various design flaws including inefficient incentives, WTO inconsistency and incompatibility with the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. The effectiveness of the proposed US scheme is severely compromised by the plethora of policy objectives it pursues, which go far beyond the goal of incentivising industrial decarbonisation in third countries, including secondary (ie protectionism) and tertiary (ie global power competition with China) objectives. The initial negotiation proposal submitted by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to European Commission trade negotiators incorporates many if not all the problematic elements of this blueprint, setting the US on a collision course with the negotiation proposal put forward by the European Commission. This paper concludes that the adoption of the scheme proposed by USTR would result in a step backwards for international climate and trade cooperation, whereas not adopting the EU proposal would make for a missed opportunity. Given the sharply diverging negotiation positions and associated respective domestic constraints on both sides, however, policymakers should start to engage stakeholders now to manage expectations towards a low-ambition negotiation result, if any.
Topic:: Security, Climate Change, Industrial Policy, Governance, European Union, Economy, Trade Policy, and Transatlantic Relations
Political Geography:: Global Focus

85. Emergent Agency in a Time of COVID-19: Research report

Author:: Flippo Artuso, Katrina Barnes, Duncan Green, and Irene Guijt
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented event in the modern era. Earlier studies demonstrated how ‘critical junctures’, which comprise major historical events and emergencies, often play an essential role in social change. This paper seeks to explore whether the COVID-19 pandemic would prove to be a similar pivotal moment, and what lessons and insights we could gather for positive social change. The research set out to find key insights on how individuals, communities, and organizations in civil society were responding to the pandemic in low-income populations at the intersection of multiple inequalities. These lessons could inform how donors, governments and NGOs might reshape their efforts to reduce emerging or deepening inequalities, and how civil society organisations and community-based organisations could amplify their positive impacts. Over 18 months, from September 2020 to March 2022, the ‘Emergent Agency’ research convened a global conversation between activists, development practitioners, researchers, and academics to better understand the phenomena that were taking place in response to the pandemic. The research collected more than 200 case studies and held a series of webinars and conversations in thematic clusters to uncover what these responses could teach us. The research project was enabled with funding from The Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme (AFSEE) of the London School of Economics.
Topic:: Civil Society, Governance, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Global Focus

86. Facing the next public health emergency: How do we know how (un)prepared we are?

Author:: Christian Haddad and Hugh Schmidt
Publication Date:: 07-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP)
Abstract:: In the realm of political preparedness, numerous benchmarks, metrics, and best practice models have emerged as integral sites in the ongoing debate. Taking the Global Health Security Index as a specific example, this paper delves into the advantages and disadvantages of such global security rankings. This analysis aims to explore the potential uses and drawbacks of employing metrics to evaluate and modify (inter-)national preparedness plans. Situating this discussion within the broader context of the escalating significance of crisis preparedness and management, particularly in the face of acute disruptions to vital infrastructures and the immense costs they entail, as well as their adverse impact on public health and societal safety. However, the findings of this analysis reveal a notable political and strategic risk associated with an excessive reliance on these metrics. It is important to recognize that these metrics not only rely on robust scientific methodologies but also rest upon selective assumptions about the world and the definition of threats. The case of the Global Health Security Index serves as an example, as the assumptions underpinning these metrics have proven inaccurate in the face of an actual pandemic. Consequently, overconfidence and misguided approaches to crisis preparedness have ensued. Additionally, this work offers a concise historical overview of preparedness thinking, outlines the field of Global Health Security, presents the existing metrics employed, and critically reflects on these tools. While metrics provide valuable insights, they should be approached with caution and an awareness of their limitations. By adopting a critical lens and recognizing the political dimensions inherent in these metrics, policymakers can make more informed decisions and develop more effective preparedness plans in an ever-evolving world of crises.
Topic:: Security, Governance, Public Health, COVID-19, and Global Health
Political Geography:: Global Focus

87. Governing Outer Space – legal issues mounting at the final frontier

Author:: Hjalte Osborn Frandsen
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: In 2022, the private space firm SpaceX successfully launched 61 rockets, adding hundreds of satellites to its burgeoning, globe-spanning mega-constellation. SpaceX´s Starlink-project now comprises more than 3,000 satellites. For comparison, the European Space Agency launched six rockets in 2022 and operates less than 50 satellites in total. In the span of a few years, private space companies have dethroned nation states as the dominant actors in outer space. Today the vast majority of satellites are owned and controlled by commercial companies. During the first months of the Russian assault on Ukraine, several commercial space companies stepped in to provide vital satellite images and space-based Internet in support of the Ukrainian defense. This exemplifies the three currently dominant trends of human space activities: expansion, securitization and privatization. The global space industry is undergoing the most fundamental and swift changes since the original space race ended when Neil Armstrong placed the first boot marks on the moon in 1969. The rapid changes raise a number of serious governance issues in areas such as national security, environmental protection and the rule of law in outer space. Denmark, Europe and the international community at large all have an acute interest in insisting on space being a global commons in which conduct can and should be regulated to benefit all of humanity – not just a few profit-seeking billionaire-owned space companies. Developments in the space industry are fast and accelerating. As with other global governance issues, like climate and cyber issues, achieving global accord on new regulations for space activities will be difficult and time-consuming, so prudent policymakers should get started right away.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Governance, Law, and Space
Political Geography:: Global Focus

88. AI-Related Risk: The Merits of an ESG-Based Approach to Oversight

Author:: Mardi Witzel and Niraj Bhargava
Publication Date:: 08-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been found to generate value for many firms; however, it also has unintended and undesirable consequences. The reality of AI-related risk has led to the development of AI governance frameworks and calls for greater oversight of the use of AI. The merits of an ESG (environmental, social, governance)-based approach to oversight of AI-related risk are considered in this paper, with a focus on the current trajectory of international sustainability standards development. Despite their differences, AI governance and ESG reporting both seek to address risk in the broadest sense, with proactive and transparent approaches to its management and mitigation. A preliminary set of recommendations for incorporating material AI-related risk into ESG reporting, covering both general or context-setting disclosures and industry-specific disclosures, is provided.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Governance, and Artificial Intelligence
Political Geography:: Global Focus

89. Clearing the Fog: The Grey Zones of Space Governance

Author:: Jessica West and Jordan Miller
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: Building on earlier research published by CIGI on the space-cyber nexus, the authors find that there is not one “grey zone” in space governance, but a cluster of nebulous governance challenges that are set to grow as our use of outer space not only expands but evolves in unexpected ways. The ultimate challenge, then, is to colour in governance frameworks so that less grey — less ambiguity — remains. In this paper, the authors peel back the layers of opacity that shroud the grey zone to reveal some of these unsettled governance issues that give rise to it, expand its scope and result in hidden harms. The analysis flows from the military concept of grey zone tactics to an identification of three entangled governance challenges. Stronger governance measures are needed, and the paper concludes by outlining opportunities for providing some colour in the grey zones of space governance by clarifying the parameters and rules of peaceful uses of outer space, making space activities and their potential harms more visible, and pursuing cross-domain governance discussions.
Topic:: Governance, Gray Zone, and Space Governance
Political Geography:: Global Focus and Space

90. The Monroe Doctrine as the Will and Idea of the United States of America

Author:: Boris Martynov
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:: East View Information Services
Abstract:: On February 24, 2022, international relations entered a whole new stage of development affecting, albeit to varying degrees, practically all states, with no end in sight. On September 7, 2022, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the world was experiencing “fundamental transformations.” Such transformations generally require several years to be completed. By the middle of the third decade of the 21st century, two highly important signs of a new situation have become absolutely clear: a crisis of the old institutions of global governance and the new rising and developing centers of power. At the same time, the opinion that the new is just the “well-forgotten old” is confirmed. This is especially true of the US and its policies.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, History, Governance, Law, Psychology, Identity, and Monroe Doctrine
Political Geography:: Russia, Global Focus, and United States of America

91. La pobreza como vector de inseguridadglobal e interna: una aproximación regulatoria

Author:: Jordi Bonet
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: Este estudiopretende realizar una reflexión, desde una aproximación esencialmente político-jurídica internacional, sobre la pobreza como un vector susceptible de generar amenazas a la seguridad, tanto desde una perspectiva global como interna de los Estados. Sin desdeñar un enfoque de este tenor (especialmente, si es un enfoque desde el prisma de la seguridad humana), se entiende que la securitización de la lucha contra la pobreza no es demasiado útil para abordarlos problemas que genera y potenciar el desarrollo. Se aboga por orientar la centralidad político-jurídica de la lucha contra la pobreza desde su comprensión como un asunto de interés público global, al que el planteamiento programático de los ODS y el Derecho internacional de los derechos humanos ofrecen una base regulatoria sólida (sin perjuicio de las dificultades reales de llevar a cabo este programa y ejecutar las normas jurídicas internacionales sobre derechos humanos). Asimismo, no se ha querido dejar de lado la importancia colateral, pero propia, de la desigualdad.
Topic:: Human Rights, Poverty, Governance, Inequality, Sustainable Development Goals, and Securitization
Political Geography:: Global Focus

92. Pobreza y desigualdad en laagendadel Consejo de Seguridad: un análisis de sus resoluciones

Author:: Rosa Ana Alija Fernández
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: El examen de las resoluciones del Consejo de Seguridad en las que menciona los términos pobrezay desigualdadpermite observar un creciente interés por estas realidades sobre todo desde la perspectiva de la prevención de conflictos y en relación con la construcción de la paz. Sin embargo, el uso que hace de sus competencias para abordarlas no resulta adecuado para luchar contra la pobreza. Antes al contrario, el modelo de gobernanza que fomenta a tal fin puede agravar las desigualdades en países que salende conflictos armados.
Topic:: Poverty, Governance, Inequality, and UN Security Council
Political Geography:: Global Focus

93. Tecnología y desigualdad: la gobernanza tecnológica como nuevo paradigma de la seguridad internacional

Author:: Milena Costas Trascasas
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:: International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:: En este trabajo examinamos el impacto que la introducción de las tecnologías digitales y la inteligencia artificial está teniendo en materia de igualdad y discriminación. El análisis de la arquitectura global de gobernanza existente, y de las propuestas para su remodelación, demuestra que existen numerosos aspectos que aún no se encuentran lo suficientemente desarrollados, lo que produce el riesgo de exacerbar las desigualdades y perpetuar las discriminaciones. La regulación de las actividades de las empresas multinacionales para anticipar y mitigar los impactos negativos sobre los derechos humanos que se derivan de las mismas y para que rindan cuentas por posibles daños, se presenta como elemento esencial en este contexto. Igualmente se precisa la adopción de acuerdos internacionales que se apliquen con carácter general a aquellas tecnologías que, por su propia naturaleza, tienen el potencial de poner en riesgo la paz y la seguridad internacionales. Este proceso debe perseguir el objetivo de ofrecer igualdad de oportunidades a los ciudadanos, la protección de los valores compartidos entre los Estados y, en definitiva, el bien común de la humanidad.
Topic:: Human Rights, Science and Technology, International Security, Governance, Democracy, Inequality, and Discrimination
Political Geography:: Global Focus

94. The Technology of Terror: from Dynamite to the Metaverse

Author:: Christina Schori Liang
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:: Non-state actors have always been interested in obtaining and mastering innovative weapons. According to “lethal empowerment theory”, new technologies will be rapidly adopted and adapted by violent non-state actors when they are accessible, cheap, simple to use, transportable, concealable, and effective. Terrorists are interested in weapons that are useful in a wide range of contexts – “that magnify effects, are symbolically resonant and can be given to unexpected uses.” It is thus important to be vigilant in analysing how actors will leverage and innovate new technologies for malicious purposes, in order to confront the “unknown unknowns” and not repeat the mistakes based on a “failure of imagination”, as highlighted in the 9/11 Commission Report.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Terrorism, Governance, Social Media, and Innovation
Political Geography:: Global Focus

95. Embedding Reintegration Assistance for Returning Migrants in the Local Context: The Role of Referrals

Author:: Ravenna Sohst and Camille Le Coz
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: The objectives of European reintegration programs for migrants returning to their countries of origin have expanded in recent years. Reintegration assistance, instead of being delivered as standardized support packages, is increasingly being designed to take into account the multiple dimensions of returnees’ reintegration—economic, social, and psychosocial—and the context of the communities in which they settle. As these programs become more complex, it has also become clear that no one service provider can offer all of the various services necessary to meet returnees’ diverse needs and profiles. One way to broaden the range of supports available to returning migrants and embed reintegration assistance into the local context is to refer returnees to local actors, including government agencies and civil-society organizations. Such referrals, particularly when combined with capacity-building assistance for local partners, can help connect returnees with tailored, long-term support. Yet, there is no consensus across reintegration programs as to how referral mechanisms should be organized, what types of services referral partners should deliver, the level of budget support different actors need, and how their work should be monitored. This policy brief explores the role of referrals in reintegration programming, offering a typology of approaches taken across programs to date. It also discusses common challenges, emerging good practices, and promising next steps to improve the local embeddedness of reintegration assistance.
Topic:: International Cooperation, International Organization, Migration, Governance, Integration, Deportation, Reintegration, Immigration Policy, and Illegal Immigration
Political Geography:: Europe and Global Focus

96. Reassessing Recruitment Costs in a Changing World of Labor Migration

Author:: Kate Hooper
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:: Recent years have seen national governments, multilateral organizations, civil society, and private-sector groups take steps to promote the fair and ethical recruitment of migrant workers, including efforts to reduce or eliminate recruitment costs. High recruitment costs can result in workers taking on a financial burden that can only be serviced through high-interest loans or debt bondage, placing them in a more vulnerable position and curtailing the income they can then save or send to loved ones via remittances. Still, progress to address recruitment costs has been uneven to date, and the pandemic has been a major setback. The public-health crisis has seen some existing costs rise or fluctuate wildly and new ones emerge (e.g., fees associated with COVID-19 testing and quarantine), with particularly pronounced effects in low- and middle-skilled sectors and informal employment. This has put working abroad out of reach for some would-be migrants while exposing others who travel abroad for work to new risks. This policy brief explores how the pandemic has affected costs for migrant workers at every stage of their journey, with a focus on new public-health measures and other additional expenses. It also reflects on what these developments mean for future efforts to promote fair and ethical recruitment. The brief is the first publication resulting from a multiyear research partnership between MPI and the SDC’s Thematic Section Migration and Forced Displacement to support the development of global solutions for migration-related challenges.
Topic:: International Cooperation, International Organization, Labor Issues, Governance, Employment, Economy, COVID-19, Recruitment, Immigration Policy, and Recession
Political Geography:: Global Focus

97. Gender Equity to Improve Immunization Services

Author:: Katherine E. Bliss and Alicia Carbaugh
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:: The Covid-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of a strong health workforce to outbreak response, as well as of vaccine delivery to prevent further outbreaks. Women and men providing care, transporting supplies, analyzing data, and delivering vaccines to patients and their families have all contributed to pandemic-related activities while maintaining a focus on routine health programs. Women comprise an estimated two-thirds of the formal health workforce worldwide—and a high percentage of the unpaid health workforce as well. Yet gender inequities, including those related to training, compensation, and professional advancement, limit opportunities for female health workers to perform their duties and develop professionally, with implications for quality of care and health outcomes. By prioritizing gender equity within their own health workforces; gathering data on gender dynamics within the immunization programs they support; and supporting initiatives to train, retain, and advance the careers of female immunization workers, donor governments—including the United States, working with bilateral and multilateral partners—can strengthen quality of care, improve global immunization coverage, and reinforce health security in the long run.
Topic:: Governance, Medicine, Equality, Immunization, and Gender
Political Geography:: Global Focus

98. Investment Incentives: A Survey of Policies and Approaches for Sustainable Investment

Author:: Lisa Johnson and Perrine Toledano
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment
Abstract:: In order to effectively harness public funds and leverage them to support sustainable development, governments have to be strategic in their use of capital. This means ensuring that government funds are used to help compensate for market failures that lead to the underproduction of public goods. It also means ensuring that government funds are not used to provide redundant support for private actors and subsidize environmentally or socially harmful activities. To achieve these policy objectives, governments need to be careful and deliberate in their use of investment incentives. Investment incentives, which may be defined (broadly) as nonmarket advantages used to influence the behavior of an economic actor, can represent significant costs to governments. These costs have the potential to generate various public benefits such as increased employment, development and dissemination of environmentally and socially sound technology, and other positive externalities. However, investment incentives are not often tailored or implemented in ways that ensure they produce the desired outcomes, or they do so at public costs that are less than their public benefits. Investment incentives have the potential to advance sustainable development but can also be misused, undermining their goals, and wasting public funds. This report provides an overview of investment incentives, their policy implications, and strategies for understanding and managing their costs and benefits.
Topic:: Development, Governance, Investment, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Global Focus

99. A Future Built on Data: Data Strategies, Competitive Advantage and Trust

Author:: Susal Ariel Aarsonson
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
Abstract:: In the twenty-first century, data became the subject of national strategy. This paper examines these visions and strategies to better understand what policy makers hope to achieve. Data is different from other inputs: it is plentiful, easy to use and can be utilized and shared by many different people without being used up. Moreover, data can be simultaneously a commercial asset and a public good. Various types of data can be analyzed to create new products and services or to mitigate complex “wicked” problems that transcend generations and nations (a public good function). However, an economy built on data analysis also brings problems — firms and governments can manipulate or misuse personal data, and in so doing undermine human autonomy and human rights. Given the complicated nature of data and its various types (for example, personal, proprietary, public, and so on), a growing number of governments have decided to outline how they see data’s role in the economy and polity. While it is too early to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies, policy makers increasingly recognize that if they want to build their country’s future on data, they must also focus on trust.
Topic:: Economics, Governance, Data, and Competition
Political Geography:: Global Focus

100. Governance for Resilience: How Can States Prepare for the Next Crisis?

Author:: Frances Brown
Publication Date:: 05-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: The pandemic has presented policymakers with daunting, interlinked, and often unprecedented challenges. From health emergencies that also upend economies to trade disruptions that also pose new multilateral diplomatic dilemmas, the pandemic has generated challenges that seem exceptional in both scale and degree of interconnection. Although the coronavirus pandemic has generated a dizzying series of harsh social, political, and economic firsts, such dilemmas will not be the last. Trend lines around a series of domestic and multinational governance issues, including climate change, migration, rising geopolitical tensions, and citizen alienation from governing institutions, suggest that complex, interlinked crises will be features of the future. While national and multilateral policymakers should work to alleviate the drivers of such crises, they must also strive to prepare their countries to adapt and recover from complex shocks. In short, they must try to build resilience. The need for resilience will be especially acute in developing and fragile states. These countries will need to respond to compounding shocks across multiple domains, without the head start that their developed-world counterparts enjoy. Equally, donors and policymakers from the Global North must also elevate resilience and adaptation as key components of their approaches to supporting fragile states. This call to bolster countries’ resilience is hardly new. Even before the pandemic, the policy arena featured increasing calls for resilience; now, the chorus has become almost deafening. Recent seminal policy and analytic documents—including the U.S. National Intelligence Council’s flagship report,1 the UK’s Integrated Review,2 and the U.S. Interim National Security Strategy3—have underscored that states’ resilience and capacity for adaptation will be key to their future success in the geopolitical arena. In donors’ peacebuilding and development policies, high-level emphasis on resilience has also swelled over the past few years, including in official communications from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,4 the United States government,5 and the European Union.6 In some development practitioner and civil society circles, the need for resilience is so frequently invoked that it sometimes borders on cliché.7 The increasingly ubiquitous recommendation to “bolster resilience” is valuable for at least two related reasons. First, it offers a more specific strategic objective than conversations around “state fragility” writ large, which have often been too broad to generate concrete policy responses. Second, recent, failed international statebuilding projects have underscored that state fragility is not to be “fixed”—instead, it is to be managed and mitigated.8 The emphasis on resilience thus marks a helpful shift away from maximalist policy framing and toward a more attainable one. But concrete insights on how developing or fragile countries actually achieve resilience are less clear and less common. Given the broad consensus that state fragility is deeply linked to governance, for many policymakers, good governance is central. To be sure, many other factors beyond governance—including demographic, geographic, military, and economic ones—affect a state’s resilience. But a country’s governance and political institutions generally undergird all other dynamics in determining how effectively that state can bounce back from setbacks. What exactly does the concept of “good governance for resilience” entail in practice? This paper surveys the evidence. Below, it reviews the governance-related characteristics and capabilities that affect a country’s resilience. For the purposes of this paper, resilience at the national level can be understood as a country’s capacity to respond to, adapt to, and grow from stresses and shocks.9 Resilience focuses on bolstering the overall performance of a system in the face of unpredictable and often interconnected hazards, making it different from risk management, which relates to specific hazards.10 A country’s resilience depends on the internal characteristics that allow for states and their institutions to navigate a variety of disruptions.11 An overarching insight from the evidence is that governance for resilience is complex and often multidirectional. Several characteristics, such as decentralization, have an ambiguous effect on resilience: they enable a country to withstand some setbacks but leave it more vulnerable in other ways. Still other characteristics—including whether a country is a democracy or an authoritarian political system—do not appear have a clear-cut effect on resilience. In contrast, a few governance “super-factors”—such as control of corruption, societal trust, and high quality political leadership—are exceptionally powerful in enabling a country to augment its resilience through multiple pathways. Finally, this paper considers the broader implications of governance for resilience as a policy agenda. The framing of bolstering countries’ resilience is a valuable one, but it also raises several vexing trade-offs and dilemmas. In particular, it prompts the question of whose resilience, in specific, it refers to, since resilience of state institutions does not always mean resilience of all parts of the population. Looking ahead, the policy refrain of “building resilience” in fragile and developing states, appealing though it is, should be refined to encompass these thorny realities.
Topic:: Governance, Crisis Management, Resilience, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Global Focus

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS