Orchestrating Global Governance: From Empirical Findings to Theoretical Implications
46 Pages Posted: 14 Jul 2014
Date Written: 2014
Abstract
This chapter is the conclusion to an edited volume on “orchestration,” a mode of governance widely used by international organizations (IGOs) and other governance actors, but rarely identified or analyzed. IGOs engage in orchestration when they enlist public or private intermediary actors on a voluntary basis, by providing them ideational and material support, to address target actors in pursuit of IGO governance goals. Orchestration is thus both indirect and soft. In the framework paper for the volume, we develop six hypotheses as to the conditions under which governance actors, and IGOs specifically, are likely to rely on orchestration. Twelve chapters then explore IGO orchestration in diverse issue areas, providing empirical evidence on our hypotheses. Here we assess that evidence. Our hypotheses provide valuable explanations of many cases of orchestration (and non-orchestration). But the cases suggest important modifications. Most significantly, we find that states often approve of or initiate IGO orchestration, even when they are its targets. Where states rather than IGOs initiate orchestration, certain factors we hypothesized would foster IGO orchestration – notably goal divergence among member states – actually discourage it.
Keywords: orchestration, global governance, international organizations, non-state actors
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