How the International Criminal Court Came to Life: The Role of Non-governmental Organisations

The negotiations which led to the adoption of the International Criminal Court Statute in Rome in July 1998 owe much to non-governmental organisations' (NGOs) activism. These non-state actors developed professional skills enabling them to match state diplomats and experts. They developed particular strategies of mobilisation and thereby achieved a double goal: not only does the Rome Statute bear their mark but also their role is consecrated both within the text itself and in their relations with institutional actors. Although one has to nuance the scope of the participation of non-state actors in international negotiations and to balance it in the light of the interlocutors they have to face, this case study analyses the expertise gained by NGOs and their growing role in law-making processes.     

Towards an understanding of corporate citizenship and how to influence it

Companies are in effect citizens of the countries where they operate and increasingly, with globalising markets, of the world. The potential positive environmental and social contribution of companies is every bit as great as their potential for harm. Good corporate citizenship is about understanding and managing an organisation's influences on and relationships with the rest of society in a way that minimises the negative and maximises the positive. The importance of the effective management of a company's citizenship performance is growing both for itself and society as a whole. There are a number of forces based on self‐interest and mutual advantage, in addition to ethical values which underpin any civilised activity, which if better understood and harnessed, can be used by company managers and stakeholders to enhance the positive contribution and lessen the negative. The key to this is the development of an effective ‘reputation market place’ which relies on the creation of countervailing power to balance that, particularly, of multinational companies. The main source of this power is coming from the emergence of campaigning non‐government organisations (NGOs). The article argues that companies will increasingly need to manage their citizenship performance in order to maintain and grow competitive advantage, that NGOs need to learn how to combine pressure with collaboration when engaging companies in addressing solutions to major environmental and social problems and, finally, that business schools should take more account of this new phenomenon in their research and teaching programmes.     

Alternativen bei der Einführung von „Bologna“: Die Umstellung auf das BA/MA-System in der deutschen und der niederländischen Politikwissenschaft

The implementation of the Bologna Declaration differs considerably between participating countries. This is most true for the introduction of a two-tiered study system. The different speed of developments within the Netherlands and Germany is taken as the point of departure for a summary of some experiences with the introduction of the BA/MA-system within Dutch Political Science, in order to stimulate a broad-based discussion in Germany. The focus of the article lies on the alternative design options available, on the one hand, and concrete experiences with the implementation of these options at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, on the other     

National Parliaments and the Eurozone Crisis: Taking Ownership in Difficult Times?

The eurozone crisis suggests a significant reinforcement of executive dominance in EU policy-making. Opaque emergency decisions taken at European summits as well as treaties established outside of the EU legal framework facilitate the side-lining of democratically elected chambers. This development entails the risk of a new wave of de-parliamentarisation in EU policy-making. An effective scrutiny of crisis management by national parliaments is, however, indispensable for taking national ownership of the reforms in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). This paper investigates national parliaments’ involvement in the development of instruments to combat the crisis. Based on a quantitative dataset of crisis-related parliamentary activities in 2010–2012, the article observes a very uneven engagement in the scrutiny of crisis management. Institutional prerogatives in EU affairs as well as macro-economic factors can partly explain the observed variation. Surprisingly, however, crisis-related parliamentary activity is not a reaction to Eurosceptic attitudes either in parliament or among the public.     

The EU as an International Counter-terrorism Actor: Progress and Constraints

During the first decade after the 9/11 attacks, the European Union (EU) has developed into an international counter-terrorism actor in its own right, a role increasingly accepted by third countries. This is a result of many influences, including a more favourable legal basis after the Amsterdam Treaty reforms; enhanced institutional capabilities, such as the growing importance of the Counter-Terrorism Coordinator; the use of a broad range of instruments, such as intelligence sharing; and the application of geopolitical priorities, guided by meetings at the United Nations and the Council of Europe (among other fora). At the same time, the EU's counter-terrorism role has remained subsidiary, both legally and politically, to that of its member states. Furthermore, a lack of its own operational capabilities, its institutional complexity, and its problems of cross-policy coordination continue to act as powerful constraints on the EU's counter-terrorism responsibilities.