Reviews

The expansion of the global economy and the governance deficit it has generated raise questions about the possibilities for regulating the practices of participants in global production networks. This paper focuses on the regulation of industrial relations in Cambodia's textile and garment industry – a unique ensemble of state, trade union, private sector and international institutions that is promoted as a “fair model of globalisation.” We track the trajectory of Cambodia's industrialisation and insertion into the global economy over three interrelated phases: first, the beginnings of export-orientated garment production in the mid- to late 1990s; secondly, the promotion of Cambodia as an “ethical producer” from 1999; and, thirdly, privileging “competitiveness” in global production networks over labour compliance for its advantage. In doing so we centre our analysis on the complex intertwining of global production, the genesis of the unique ensemble of actors in Cambodia and the anomaly of Cambodia's labour movement.     

Between collective action and a fragmented political economy: the G20 and the return of protectionist impulses

Not unlike the 1930s, the current state of global economic governance is marked by a vacuum of leadership as neither traditional leading states nor emerging economic actors have proven able or willing to coordinate collective action. This interregnum has allowed space for the G20 to emerge as a calibrating force for the maintenance of a liberal economic order. Protectionist impulses, however, are increasingly emerging victorious as unemployment and domestic interests drive political action. The stabilizing presence of the G20 is thus tested in an environment privileging divisive domestic-oriented forces allowed greater space under conditions in a fragmented post-hegemonic global economy. These spaces for domestic concern, and the receptiveness of policy leaders to them, represent a return to the promise of embedded liberalism and away from the era of hyper-liberalization that has marked the past several decades of broadly measured economic growth.     

Technology and democracy: validity in measurements of e-democracy

The use of information and communication technologies in democratic processes, often summarized by the term e-democracy, has seldom been analysed from a global perspective. Although the United Nations E-Participation Index provides one of the few examples of an international measurement of e-democracy, it has been thoroughly criticized; at the same time, however, a number of studies have broadened our understanding of the global determinants of e-democracy by using this very index. In this study, I approach this problem by considering (i) whether the UN E-Participation Index is a valid measurement of e-democracy and (ii) whether any alternative measurements of e-democracy present themselves. In answer to these questions, it would seem that the index, despite its flaws, is not necessarily as problematic as is assumed, although there are observations that violate essential theoretical assumptions and so reduce its validity. Furthermore, its use in combination with measurements of democracy agrees with the emphasis in the literature on e-democracy being embedded in democracy, and results in a measurement that better corresponds with theoretical ideas of e-democracy.     

After the halcyon days: the anti-/alterglobalization movement and international organizations, 1996–2011

Why are relations between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations (IOs) sometimes conflictual and other times collaborative? This article evaluates hypotheses in the international relations and social movements literatures with reference to relations between NGOs associated with the anti-/alterglobalization movement and multilateral economic institutions (MEIs). Drawing on an original database and interviews with MEI and NGO staff members, the article shows that attributes of NGOs – including NGO budgets, ideology, and organizational structure – rather than the political or economic environment better account not only for an overall increase in collaboration with IOs since the late 1990s, but also for a growing divergence among NGOs regarding the acceptability of such collaboration.     

BBNJ国际协定中人类共同继承财产原则的去留探析——人类命运共同体理念下的中国因应之策

国家管辖范围以外区域海洋生物多样性(BBNJ)养护和可持续利用国际协定的立法进程已进入关键阶段。其中,关于BBNJ国际协定的一般原则或方法条款中是否包含人类共同继承财产原则这一问题,各方代表立场不同,再次成为谈判焦点之一。从全球海洋治理中,国际法理论与实践创新以及国家利益视角分析,得出中国应当支持此原则被明确列入BBNJ国际协定一般性条款之中。但是,解构当前人类共同继承财产原则的法律内涵与适用,结合现有各方立场,得出此原则最终被明确列入BBNJ国际协定一般原则或方法条款中的实然可能性偏小。基于此,建议中国首先立足争议问题本身,将人类命运共同体理念作为价值导向引入BBNJ国际协定,增强各方国际合作与责任承担共识,平衡诉求矛盾,推进BBNJ国际协定的出台与生效;其次,通过引入人类命运共同体理念,完善人类共同继承财产原则的国际法内涵,增强该原则在谈判中的国际认同度与采纳度,并通过阐释中国支持性的主张,进一步增强中国运用人类命运共同体理念参与并引导全球海洋治理的能力。     

Towards a Global Regulatory Framework for Cross-Border Data Flows—Fundamental Concerns and the China’s Approach

Cross-border data flows not only involve cross-border trade issues, but also severely challenge personal information protection, national data security, and the jurisdiction of justice and enforcement. As the current digital trade negotiations could not accommodate these challenges, China has initiated the concept of secure cross-border data flow and has launched a dual-track multi-level regulatory system, including control system for overseas transfer of important data, system of crossborder provision of personal information, and system of cross-border data request for justice and enforcement. To explore a global regulatory framework for cross-border data flows, legitimate and controllable cross-border data flows should be promoted, supervision should be categorized based on risk concerned, and the rule of law should be coordinated at home and abroad to promote system compatibility. To this end, the key is to build a compatible regulatory framework, which includes clarifying the scope of important data to define the “Negative List” for preventing national security risks, improving the cross-border accountability for protecting personal information rights and interests to ease pre-supervision pressure, and focusing on data access rights instead of data localization for upholding the jurisdiction of justice and enforcement.     

国际法视野下的标准治理

全球化带来的世界转型,使国际体系呈现一体化和碎片化交织的复杂模式。而依循国际法进行的全球治理,则因其治理乏力而饱受争议。究其原因,公私治理主体间的矛盾、治理方式的僵硬,导致治理价值的受损。以标准作为全球治理的技术(以下简称"标准治理"),更好地折射出全球治理的优势和限度。一方面,多元多层级标准治理主体之间的合作和互动,增进了决策权的复制与移转,使治理方式更为灵活有序。另一方面,国家导向与市场导向权威之间的可能摩擦,恐使全球治理屈从于"排除知识落伍者"的单一治理模式。更为重要的是,标准治理激发了对国际法秩序,特别是国际法传统渊源的反思和重塑,对于如何更好地推动公私标准的融合、改善国际立法及其遵守,继而推动全球治理的可持续发展提供了新契机。     

Transnational partisanship: idea and practice

That parties might successfully organize transnationally is an idea often met with scepticism. This article argues that while certain favourable conditions are indeed absent in the transnational domain, this implies not that partisanship is impossible but that it is likely to be marked by certain traits. Specifically, it will tend to be episodic, structured as a low-density network and delocalized in its ideational content. These tendencies affect the normative expectations one can attach to it. Transnational partisanship should be valued as a transitional phenomenon, e.g. as a pathway to transnational democracy, more than as a desirable thing in itself.     

New challenges in immigration theory: an overview

Normative political theory over recent decades has focused mainly on what ought to be done as far as migration policies are concerned. It faces a basic challenge, which stems from two competing, yet equally fundamental, ideals underpinning liberal democratic societies: a commitment to moral universalism and the exclusionary requirement of democracy. The objective of this special issue, ‘New Challenges in Immigration Theory’, is to provide a conceptual overview of (some) immigration theories and to highlight the challenges new streams of immigration pose for normative (political) theory and liberal democratic practice. The issue will consider how to reconcile state-based exclusion with a commitment to equal moral concern for all persons, by focusing on the non-standard immigration questions that have so far been ‘neglected’ by normative political theory. In line with this objective, the issue will discuss some of the inadequacies of the dominant political theories of immigration and show how such theories can be expanded to take account of new migration challenges such as brain drain, climate migration, detention of irregular migrants and asylum seekers, rights of labour migrants, transnational networks of movement, and so on.     

Global governance of training standards in an outsourced labor force: The training double bind in seafarer license and certification assessments

The shipping industry is among the most globalized of all industries and is characterized by complex modular supply chains, including a largely outsourced labor force of “just‐in‐time” casualized workers from developing countries and the transitional East European states. Despite long‐standing efforts by international bodies to standardize and regulate the education and training of seafarers, variations in practices and standards persist. Employers exercise contradictory influences on education and training providers, on the one hand demanding the urgent provision of more recruits (encouraging corner‐cutting), and on the other complaining about the poor quality of recruits received (urging crackdowns on poor quality providers and more rigorous examinations) – the training double bind. This paper reflects on these issues through the study of the problematic use of computerized assessments in seafarer examinations, drawing upon findings from a study involving research in six different case study countries providing maritime labor and interviews with stakeholders.