IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/poango/v8y2020i1p336-347.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

‘Authority Shifts’ in Global Governance: Intersecting Politicizations and the Reform of Investor–State Arbitration

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Herranz-Surrallés

    (Politics Department, Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Maastricht University, The Netherlands)

Abstract

The global investment regime is a prime example of the so-called ‘politicization beyond the state.’ Investment agreements with an Investor–State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism have become contested in several corners of the globe, triggering a widespread reform process encompassing national, regional and multilateral levels. This article examines the consequences of this confluence of politicization processes, focusing on the European Union (EU) and two key venues of ISDS reform: the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). Combining different strands of politicization literature in International Relations and Political Science, the article advances a nuanced conceptualisation of the institutional consequences of politicization that goes beyond a deepening/decline dichotomy. Instead, the article examines whether and how politicization generates ‘authority shifts,’ either through a vertical move between international and national levels; and/or through a horizontal recalibration between public and private forms of governance. The article argues that although the EU’s initiative for global ISDS reform intended to rebalance public and private authority while strengthening its international character, the on-going reform processes at the UNCITRAL and the ECT may eventually lead to a (partial) dismantling of international authority.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Herranz-Surrallés, 2020. "‘Authority Shifts’ in Global Governance: Intersecting Politicizations and the Reform of Investor–State Arbitration," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(1), pages 336-347.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v:8:y:2020:i:1:p:336-347
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/2651
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schneiderman,David, 2008. "Constitutionalizing Economic Globalization," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521692038.
    2. Hooghe, Liesbet & Marks, Gary, 2009. "A Postfunctionalist Theory of European Integration: From Permissive Consensus to Constraining Dissensus," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(1), pages 1-23, January.
    3. Zürn, Michael, 2014. "The politicization of world politics and its effects: Eight propositions," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 6(1), pages 47-71.
    4. Julia Calvert, 2018. "Civil Society and Investor–state Dispute Settlement: Assessing the Social Dimensions of Investment Disputes in Latin America," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 46-65, January.
    5. Lauge N. Skovgaard Poulsen & Emma Aisbett, 2011. "When the Claim Hits: Bilateral Investment Treaties and Bounded Rational Learning," Crawford School Research Papers 1105, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    6. Thomas Dietz & Marius Dotzauer & Edward S. Cohen, 2019. "The legitimacy crisis of investor-state arbitration and the new EU investment court system," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(4), pages 749-772, July.
    7. Lisa Diependaele & Ferdi De Ville & Sigrid Sterckx, 2019. "Assessing the Normative Legitimacy of Investment Arbitration: The EU’s Investment Court System," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(1), pages 37-61, January.
    8. Jonas Tallberg & Michael Zürn, 2019. "The legitimacy and legitimation of international organizations: introduction and framework," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 581-606, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rauh, Christian, 2022. "Clear messages to the European public? The language of European Commission press releases 1985–2020," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Latest Ar, pages 1-19.
    2. FabianG. Neuner, 2020. "Public Opinion and the Legitimacy of Global Private EnvironmentalGovernance," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 20(1), pages 60-81, February.
    3. Tobias Lenz & Besir Ceka & Liesbet Hooghe & Gary Marks & Alexandr Burilkov, 2023. "Discovering cooperation: Endogenous change in international organizations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 631-666, October.
    4. Kreuder-Sonnen, Christian & Zangl, Bernhard, 2020. "Zwischen Hoffen und Bangen: Zum Verhältnis von Autorität, Politisierung und Demokratisierung in internationalen Organisationen [Between hope and fear: On the relationship between authority, politic," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 27(1), pages 5-36.
    5. Bart-Jaap Verbeek, 2022. "Embedded Neoliberalism and the Legitimacy of the Post-Lisbon European Union Investment Policy," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(3), pages 110-120.
    6. Bes, Bart Joachim & Schoonvelde, Martijn & Rauh, Christian, 2020. "Undermining, defusing or defending European integration? Assessing public communication of European executives in times of EU politicisation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 59(2), pages 397-423.
    7. Hubert Zimmermann, 2019. "The European Parliament and the Layered Politicization of the External Dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 7(3), pages 237-247.
    8. Tuuli-Anna Huikuri, 2023. "Constraints and incentives in the investment regime: How bargaining power shapes BIT reform," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 361-391, April.
    9. Johann Robert Basedow, 2022. "Why de‐judicialize? Explaining state preferences on judicialization in World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body and Investor‐to‐State Dispute Settlement reforms," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 1362-1381, October.
    10. Julian Aichholzer & Sylvia Kritzinger & Carolina Plescia, 2021. "National identity profiles and support for the European Union," European Union Politics, , vol. 22(2), pages 293-315, June.
    11. Marco Manacorda & Guido Tabellini & Andrea Tesei, 2022. "Mobile Internet and the Rise of Political Tribalism in Europe," Working Papers 941, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    12. Luuk Middelaar, 2016. "The Return of Politics – The European Union after the crises in the eurozone and Ukraine," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(3), pages 495-507, May.
    13. Alexander Kentikelenis & Erik Voeten, 2021. "Legitimacy challenges to the liberal world order: Evidence from United Nations speeches, 1970–2018," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 721-754, October.
    14. Felicity Vabulas, 2020. "Christian Kreuder-Sonnen. 2019. Emergency Powers of International Organizations: Between Normalization and Containment. (Oxford: Oxford University Press)," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 969-973, October.
    15. Soetkin Verhaegen & Marc Hooghe & Ellen Quintelier, 2014. "European Identity and Support for European Integration: A Matter of Perceived Economic Benefits?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 295-314, May.
    16. Chia-yi Lee & Noel P. Johnston, 2016. "Improving Reputation BIT by BIT: Bilateral Investment Treaties and Foreign Accountability," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(3), pages 429-451, May.
    17. Wolfram Kaiser, 2017. "Limits of Cultural Engineering: Actors and Narratives in the European Parliament's House of European History Project," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 518-534, May.
    18. Natascha Zaun & Ariadna Ripoll Servent, 2023. "Perpetuating Crisis as a Supply Strategy: The Role of (Nativist) Populist Governments in EU Policymaking on Refugee Distribution," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(3), pages 653-672, May.
    19. Rauh, Christian, 2015. "Communicating supranational governance? The salience of EU affairs in the German Bundestag, 1991–2013," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 16(1), pages 116-138.
    20. Cross Ciaran & Schliemann-Radbruch Christian, 2013. "When Investment Arbitration Curbs Domestic Regulatory Space: Consistent Solutions through Amicus Curiae Submissions by Regional Organisations," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 6(2), pages 67-110, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v:8:y:2020:i:1:p:336-347. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.