Global Talk, Local Action: Norm Implementation Through United Nations Operational Activities
Final Report Abstract
As a result of globalization, domestic law and international law as well as other global norms are increasingly interwoven and entangled. International organizations are central fora for the elaboration of international legal norms. This is particularly true of the United Nations as the only international organization that has both potentially universal membership and can in principle adopt norms in all issue areas. Research on international organizations has shown that, contrary to the long-held assumption that norm-setting is a domaine réservé of states, international bureaucrats, i.e. the staff of international organizations, make important contributions to global norm-setting processes. My project builds on this research and develops categories to describe the nature of international bureaucrats’ influence on contemporary international lawmaking. Here, I pay particular attention to formal mandate structures and how they play out in practice. Two categories can be observed to occur in various contexts: First, international officials interpret vague legal and normative concepts, primarily through regular reporting. I have described this as “executive interpretation”. Second, international civil servants act as interfaces between various actors that are relevant to international lawmaking, and in their position as interface use their leeway to favor certain positions over others. This dynamic can be observed at both the global and national levels. My project specifically broadens existing perspectives to examine the United Nations’ operational activities, taking as an example the interpretation of the Sustainable Development Goals through operational activities. The example of the Sustainable Development Goals shows that operational activities of the United Nations within member states have an impact on the understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals at the global level. One insight from the project, and one that requires further research, are the many legitimacy issues that emerge from this dynamic. International officials have a de facto influence on global lawmaking processes that should not be underestimated. Yet, legitimacy is still primarily conceived of as mediated by states. This leads to an important legitimacy gap. Further research should address what exactly this legitimacy gap looks like and how it might be closed.
Publications
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Beyond Peace and Security: The UN Transition Assistance Group in Namibia and its Importance for Contemporary Constitution-Making. AJIL Unbound, 117, 257-262.
Birkenkötter, Hannah
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‘Make Cities and Human Settlements Inclusive, Safe, Resilient, and Sustainable’. The UN Sustainable Development Goals, 799-858. Oxford University Press.
Birkenkötter, Hannah
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“What the Secretariat Makes It”: United Nations Civil Servants between Administrative Function and Contemporary International Lawmaking. International Organizations Law Review, 20(3), 426-456.
Birkenkötter, Hannah
