AI narratives and unequal conditions. Analyzing the discourse of liminal expert voices in discursive communicative spaces

The stories told by expert activists about the relationship between AI and inequality are the focus of this article. It explores internet governance discourse in two fora - RightsCon and Sweden's Internet Days - which, it is argued, comprise a communicative space that is both global and liminal. Narrative analysis is used to map how 30 expert activists from around the world, whose engagement is bound neither to state nor corporate interests, talk about how AI can be understood as a boon or a bane to inequality, both social and communicative. While common themes are in evidence (such as the need to safeguard people's right to own their own data), some noteworthy dissonances are also discernible (such as whether such people should be envisaged as individuals or collectivities). The narratives are critical in that they resist the impetus of rapid, and in some cases unfettered, technological advancement while at the same time pushing back against the apocalyptic AI narratives familiar from popular culture. The study contributes to an understanding of the socio-technico imaginaries of a category of actors who merit more attention than they have been paid by scholars to date. Their expertise grants them authority, and the stories they tell speak of agency.     

Agency and representation in internet governance

This special issue offers a new perspective on decision-making in internet governance, bringing together theoretical contributions and empirical knowledge on authority and influence in underexplored policy settings, from the Congress of the United States to RightsCon, a leading summit on human rights in the digital era. The articles included here shed light on specific groups underrepresented in existing research (such as civil society groups, expert activists, technical community) and on the interactions between these groups and traditional, powerful actors such as governments and industry. These contributions raise new questions, such as: is agency possible without representation in the digital space? Who can represent? Are deficiencies in technology governance affecting the representation model of our political systems more broadly? How do representation and agency manifest themselves across time and space?     

Global Labour‐Standards Advocacy by European Civil Society Organizations: Trends and Developments

In recent years, developments in intergovernmental organizations and transnational private governance organizations have created new opportunities and constraints for the promotion of global labour‐standards governance by civil society organizations (CSOs). This article describes how European CSOs (including trade union organizations and non‐governmental organizations (NGOs)) respond to these developments. It argues that European civil society is witnessing a threefold shift in priorities of labour‐standards advocacy: from pushing regulatory approaches to organizational capacity building; from corporate responsibility strategies focused on compliance to strategies focused on transparency; and from fair labour standards within the sustainable development agenda to a host of other issues. The overall result is that labour‐standards advocacy in general and private labour governance in particular are receiving less attention from European CSOs.     

Normfare: Norm entrepreneurship in internet governance

This special issue is the first to systematically address the activity we call “normfare” - the assiduous development of norms of very different character (public and private, formal and informal, technically mediated and directly implemented) by different actors (platforms, standard-setters, states) as an answer to the wide range of challenges facing internet governance. We bring together contributions from leading anthropologists, technologists, political scientists, legal and communication scholars exploring how norms underpin the new ordering of the internet, whether in explicit or implicit forms. Through various theoretical lenses, contributions analyze the impact of platforms, states, civil society, expert groups and key individuals on restructuring the normative order of the internet, and present empirical evidence for instances of norm creation, legitimation, contestation and opposition. Valuable new insights for norm development processes come from case studies, ethnographies, legal and discourse analysis and interdisciplinary approaches locating agency and power plays. In this introduction, we define the key concepts applicable to norm entrepreneurship and discuss their interplay in internet governance debates, followed by an overview of the articles included in the special issue. In the final section, we reflect on the implications of our new research agenda.     

Research priority setting in food and health domain: European stakeholder beliefs about legitimacy criteria and processes

Dietary factors are the most important risk factors affecting health and well-being of population in every Member State of the European Region. Finding sustainable solutions to the food and health challenges is one of the key issues that today’s society urgently needs to address. Research prioritisation thus has an essential role in directing public resources to addressing these challenges. However, the processes of prioritisation among the food and health funders are rarely subject to scrutiny and the calls for democratizing science continue, as a means of enhancing both input legitimacy (with its focus on the processes of decision-making) and output legitimacy (the utility and impact of such decisions). The current study examines what conceptualisations of legitimacy (input and output) are held by the European stakeholders of the food and health research and innovation (R&I) process such as business organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and public sector organisations. We analyse stakeholder views from a series of European Awareness Scenario Workshops across nine EU countries (N = 295). The content and thematic analysis of the outputs identified six criteria determining conceptualisations of legitimacy: Influence; Representation; Procedural issues; Epistemic focus; Strategic vision; and Impact. The statistical analysis of the coded data highlighted stakeholder differences with business sector organisations being significantly less concerned about influence and representation than either NGO or public sector organisations. The results indicate that input legitimacy is of major concern to civil society and public sector actors. They reflect the wider debate about the way in which food and health R&I should be funded and policy decisions conducted, suggesting a need for better delineation of stakeholder roles and power differentials in this process. The findings are discussed with reference to the current discussions about Responsible Research and Innovation.     

Race,ethnicity, and telecommunications policy issues of access and representation: Centering communities of color and their concerns

This paper examines how and why activist groups representing marginalized communities of color are increasingly engaging in communications technology policy issues, particularly in relation to issues of digital access and representation. It explores three distinct but related case studies to disentangle the issues and concerns of a range of communities of color, and the challenges and opportunities for their advocates in navigating the highly technical communications technology policy arena: the first case study, which centers on the NAACP's original opposition to net neutrality, reveals the primacy of issues surrounding the “digital divide” to populations of color, and the difficulties of engaging in technical conversations surrounding Internet governance when issues of access persist. Meanwhile, the second case reviews the campaign by Free Press to promote set-top box liberalization as an issue of representation and diversity to both policymakers and citizens. The final case, which examines the work of the Tribal International Carrier to build an alternative internet service network for Native populations, highlights the precarity which organizations must strategically navigate in order to mitigate the influence of both the state and large corporations over Internet policy issues in order to both serve and represent their constituents. In all, this paper presents and extends upon a novel approach to communications policy research, foregrounding the need to integrate critical race frameworks and, relatedly, to center the breadth, depth, and lived experiences of communities of color, which can therein facilitate more inclusive digital media and communication environments and policy structures.     

Who do you think you are? Individual stakeholder identification and mobility at the Internet Governance Forum

In order for the Internet Governance ecosystem to work effectively, it requires a variety of expertise and advice from different sectors and backgrounds. Drawing on the public Internet Governance Forum (IGF) participation lists from 2006 to 2019, this paper analyses how individual participants chose to identify themselves in the given frameworks applied across the IGFs, and how they ‘travel’ through the Internet Governance ecosystem over successive fora. Identifying 18,968 unique IGF participants from 2006 to 2019, representing 7326 unique organisations, this paper thus provides an unprecedented level of detail as to who is present in multistakeholder discussions. It sets the scene for a more reflective discussion on the inclusivity and effectiveness of the multistakeholder model pursued at the IGF and engages with literature in the field of stakeholder mobility and stakeholder interests, opening up potential for further research on the legitimacy of multistakeholderism.     

Side by Side We Battle Onward? Representing Workers in Contemporary America

As collective bargaining in the United States declines, diverse forms of worker representation are proliferating. Strategic dilemmas of representation are central to the diverse organizations and coalitions representing disparate aspects of workers' interests. Unions continue to bargain collectively, while forming alliances with other groups and providing an array of services to members. Other organizations and loose associations represent specific aspects of workers' interests and advocate on their behalf while stopping short of collective bargaining. This article compares the scope, objectives and methods of worker representation by unions and non‐bargaining actors. It argues that the key dilemmas of which workers to represent, over what issues and through which organizational forms, apply both to unions and to non‐bargaining actors, such as community organizations, and advocacy groups, which represent select interests of particular workers. These non‐bargaining actors are key strategic allies for unions. While these organizations do not take on collective bargaining, they are sometimes better positioned to represent other key needs and interests of workers. The legal‐political and mutual insurance needs of workers are sometimes well met by these emergent groups. However, these organizations do not, and cannot, provide the advantages of traditional collective bargaining.     

发展中国家在国际气候谈判中的地位与策略研究——基于新制度经济学与公共选择理论的视角

气候变暖的生态环境危机是关系到全人类生存与发展之共同利益的全球性问题。面对日益严峻的全球气候变暖的紧张形势,发达国家与发展中国家应在国际气候谈判的平台上搁置争议、通力合作,实现全球气候的共同治理与保护。然而在国际气候谈判中,不同国家在本国经济发展与全球气候保护问题上均有各自的利益诉求。在各国为自身谋求更多的排放权与发展空间的过程中,作为发展中国家的各国寄希望于在国际气候谈判中通过集体行动增进共同利益,然而由于发展中国家集团内部就减排与发展问题的利益冲突,特别是"搭便车"行为的普遍存在,致使发展中国家在与发达国家集团的气候谈判博弈中难以形成"合力"。本文旨在透过新制度经济学与公共选择理论的视角,就如何切实保护发展中国家在全球气候治理与本国经济发展中的权益问题,从国际气候谈判规则的改革与重构,以及发展中国家在国际气候谈判中应当坚持的原则这两个方面,给出一个合理的解释与建议。     

Toward new guardrails for the information society

Increasing interdependencies and deepening uncertainty change how the information society can be governed sustainably. In response, policy approaches worldwide are being reconsidered and new approaches developed that are more appropriate to these conditions. This article explores the conditions under which policies that worked in the past remain appropriate and when they will likely fail. It explores the role of dynamic analytical frames and a reconsideration of the normative principles of information society policies in overcoming these weaknesses. New instruments and policy arrangements that are considered include the establishment of boundary conditions (“guardrails”) for players, reliance on adaptive forms of policy, and reliance on ethics across all layers of governance. Driven by the global heterogeneity of values and the diversity of historical, economic, political, and cultural conditions, national and global governance arrangements will likely become more multi-centric. To avoid regulatory drift and fragmentation, policy must strive to create dynamic learning systems that help to continuously improve information society governance.     

“金砖国家”合作机制的特点、问题及我国的对策

＂金砖国家＂合作机制正在演变为成员国之间增加互信、解决分歧、探讨全球重大问题的重要交流平台,它不同于传统的政治集团组织,是一个开放性的政治协商和对话机制,是塑造公平、公正、平衡、合理的国际政治经济秩序的重要方式和途径。但这一合作机制还存在运行方式欠缺稳定性、共同利益基础不牢固、成员国的发展充满不确定性、外部竞争压力大等问题。中国作为这一机制的重要成员,必须立场明确地为该机制的发展完善做出贡献,并通过该机制协调全球问题,实现国家战略目标。     

Determinants of alliance partner choice: Network distance,managerial incentives,and board monitoring

Research Summary: We ask if managerial opportunism is a significant problem in alliance partner choice and examine the role of corporate governance mechanisms in explaining this choice. Using a sample of 313 alliances of U.S. firms from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries from 1992 to 2010, we find that managerial incentives lead to managerial preference for relationally risky distant partners over existing and new close partners. Further, board monitoring encourages managers to pursue existing and distant partners over new close ones, choices aligned with shareholder interests. In addition, we find that board monitoring substitutes for managerial incentives in alliance partner choice. We contribute to the literature on alliance partner choice to identify an important, and hitherto, unexplored perspective. Managerial Summary: This article examines whether managers and shareholders view alliance‐related risks differently, and how the divergent interests between managers and shareholders affect alliance partner choice. We argue that managers’ concern about their loss of employment and compensation from alliance failure impedes the choice of relationally risky alliance partners that may increase shareholder value. We also argue that managerial stock ownership and board monitoring mitigate this managerial propensity. Our findings suggest that stock ownership owned by managers and strong board monitoring are effective governance mechanisms to align managers’ interests with those of shareholders. Our study offers a novel perspective to understand alliance partner choice by viewing the firm as an entity comprised of fragmented interests.     

The politics of success in the fight against malnutrition in Peru

The dramatic reduction in children’s chronic malnutrition in Peru observed in recent years has defied the patterns of stunting reduction worldwide. After nearly a decade of stalled progress, the government reported a reduction in stunting rates of nearly 10 points, from 29.8% in 2005 to 18.1% in 2011. The specialized literature has acknowledged the critical role that immediate (e.g. increasing breastfeeding promotion) and underlying (e.g. investments to improve household food security) interventions have played in reducing stunting (Black et al., 2013), as well as the contributing role of enabling factors related to economic performance. This paper offers an alternative explanation to success by looking at the shift in the government’s nutrition strategy after 2006 with the formation of the Child Malnutrition Initiative (CMI), a civil society working platform, and the adoption of a national poverty reduction strategy prioritizing nutrition interventions (known as CRECER) and conditional cash transfers (JUNTOS). The paper uses veto players theory to explain how these changes effectively contributed to policy change by reducing the effective number of nutrition stakeholders involved and facilitating policy agreements around a common policy platform and established goals. The Peruvian case also highlights the importance of the government’s public commitment to reduce chronic malnutrition in children under five by 5 percent in 5 years (“5 by 5 by 5”) and the accompanying role, advocacy and monitoring from civil society organizations.The paper looks at the success of implementing the nutrition strategy in three dimensions. Horizontally, it looks at the coordination between government and non-government agencies to converge around a common policy discourse;vertically, it looks at the implementation of the nutrition strategy across national, regional and municipal governments;and financially, it looks at the coordinated and conditional allocation of nutrition funding and how this created greater incentives for horizontal and vertical coordination. The paper draws some theoretical and policy implications for improving the effective and accountable delivery of nutrition interventions in Peru and other countries outside Latin America.     

A comparison of selected Western and Chinese smart governance: The application of ICT in governmental management,participation and collaboration

There has been increasing scholarly interest in the concepts and practices of smart governance. However, there is a lack of comparative studies of smart governance in different institutional contexts. This study develops a framework for comparing smart governance in different institutional and technological contexts. Comparative and discourse analyses are conducted to understand the similarities and differences of smart governance practices in selected Western countries and China. A key finding of this study is that different institutions have largely affected smart governance strategies, arrangements and outcomes. Smart governance is tightly linked with e-governance and e-democracy in some Western countries, while it officially emphasizes smart management and service in China. A common aspect is that the increasing use of social media, smartphones, portals, crowdsourcing platforms, and planning support systems have generally promoted smart governments and services, e-participation, and wider collaboration through both top-down and bottom-up approaches. This could lead to gradual changes in government organizations, new relations between governments, the private sector and citizens, and improvements in the city.     

Identifying and addressing land governance constraints to support intensification and land market operation: Evidence from 10 African countries

Beyond concerns about agricultural productivity growth, issues of land governance have attracted global interest as demand for land acquisition by outsiders has increased rapidly but most of the transfers failed to live up to expectations and instead disrupted local livelihoods. We use the land governance assessment framework to identify key conceptual issues and identify how land governance in 10 African countries compares to global good practice. Results point towards weak protection of rights in practice, large gaps in female land access, and limited outreach and effectiveness of institutions to record rights and adjudicate disputes. We note that programs to improve performance along these lines had significant impact in other contexts, suggesting that efforts to improve land governance will be warranted and should be closely monitored and evaluated in an effort to identify models suited to African conditions and assess their impact and interaction with other factor markets.     

The Involvement of Civil Society Organizations in British Industrial Relations: Extent,Origins and Significance

This article examines the involvement of civil society organizations (CSOs) in UK industrial relations. Organizations of this type, including advocacy, campaigning, identity and community organizations have attracted increasing attention from employment relations scholars in recent years. The study reported in this article demonstrates that CSOs have become increasingly active in the sphere of work and employment, partly in response to trade union decline but also owing to political opportunities, afforded by the labour market policy of the New Labour government. It is claimed that CSOs operate at multiple levels of the industrial relations system and interact with the state, employers and trade unions. They generate significant effects within UK industrial relations and can rightly be judged significant ‘new actors’ on the UK employment scene.     

Determinants of transnational new product development capability: testing the influence of transferring and deploying tacit overseas knowledge

Based on a survey of 90 transnational product introductions, we find that the transnational product development capabilities of organizations significantly depend upon their ability to transfer and deploy tacit knowledge concerning overseas markets. Specifically, we find that organizations which use cross-national teams, teams with members who have prior overseas experience, or teams whose members communicate frequently with overseas managers in order to acquire information about tacit differences among countries have greater transnational product development capabilities. This study contributes to our understanding of how organizations transfer and deploy knowledge across borders for competitive advantage and makes an important contribution to the literature on global strategy. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

公司治理机制与高管薪酬决定研究最新进展综述

基于坚实的理论基础和丰富的数据环境,有关高管薪酬的研究在近十几年来得以迅速发展,并成为经济学、管理学等学科的重要研究领域。由本次国际金融危机引发的全球＂限薪＂浪潮,更是加深了公众对如何从公司治理层面强化企业高管薪酬治理的关注程度。文章系统梳理了国外关于公司治理机制与高管薪酬决定研究的最新成果,并对后续研究进行了展望。     

The changing rationale for governance choices: Early vs. late adopters of global services sourcing

Research Summary: This article studies how the logic of firm governance choices varies as a function of the time of adoption of particular sourcing practices. Using data on the diffusion of global business services sourcing as a management practice from early experiments in the 1980s through 2011, we show that the extent to which governance choices are affected by process commoditization, availability of external service capabilities, and past governance choices depends on whether firms are early or late adopters. Findings inform research on governance choice dynamics specifically in highly diverse and evolving firm populations. Managerial Summary: This article considers how firms have chosen delivery models in global services sourcing decisions over time. Based on comprehensive data, we make two major observations. First, we find that firms that began with global services sourcing early, invested mainly in their internal sourcing capacity, while outsourcing only simple tasks to external providers, whereas firms that started later invested more in their capability to outsource various services to increasingly sophisticated suppliers. Second, we find that initial investments in internal or external sourcing capabilities have a strong effect on future choices of delivery models. This explains why, even today, firms vary greatly in how they implement global sourcing decisions, and it suggests that newcomers should learn from their own peer group rather than from highly experienced firms.