Orchestrating global governance: From empirical findings to theoretical implications

Kenneth Abbott, Philipp Genschel, Duncan Snidal, Bernhard Zangl

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

We started this project with a puzzle and a hunch. The puzzle was whether and how IGOs can have an impact on international governance even though they lack the authority and resources normally seen as necessary for successful governance. The hunch was that this could be understood by investigating IGOs’ use of “soft” governance techniques to mobilize third parties to assist in achieving IGO goals.In the introductory chapter of this volume, “Orchestration: global governance through intermediaries,” we theorize our initial hunch, both in general terms and for the special circumstances of IOs. We introduce the concept of orchestration, a mode of governance that is soft and indirect; orchestration thus stands in contrast to modes of governance that are direct and/or hard, including hierarchy, collaboration and delegation. In orchestration, one actor, the orchestrator, enlists the voluntary assistance of a second actor, the intermediary, to govern a third actor, the target, in line with the orchestrator’s goals. We refer to this as the O-I-T model of orchestration. We focus in this volume on the special case in which the orchestrator is an IGO. The introductory chapter introduces six hypotheses regarding the conditions under which governance actors, and IGOs specifically, are likely to engage in orchestration.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationInternational Organizations as Orchestrators
PublisherCambridge University Press
Pages349-379
Number of pages31
ISBN (Print)9781139979696, 9781107082205
StatePublished - Jan 1 2015

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Social Sciences

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