Private regulation and especially the United Nations Global Compact as instruments of global governance
Meriläinen, Ruut (2019-10-01)
Private regulation and especially the United Nations Global Compact as instruments of global governance
(01.10.2019)
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
suljettu
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on:
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019112043276
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2019112043276
Tiivistelmä
The starting point of this thesis is global governance, which shapes the nature of the prevailing global order. Also, the role of the private sector is an important aspect because as a result of globalization, multinational corporations have become remarkable global actors. They come with many beneficial consequences, such as creating employment and economic growth, but on the other hand, their activities also cause negative effects, such as human rights and environmental violations.
Over the past few decades, governments of states have several times tried to bring about a comprehensive regime for regulating international corporate behavior, but it has not yet succeeded. Some reasons have also been presented why it might not be successful in the future either. The traditional treaty-based system of governance is struggling to cope with some of the modern global challenges, and in some issues, it has proven to be insufficient. There are challenges that the public sector is not able to solve alone.
Hence, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) has been launched as a modern global governance instrument that strives to promote corporate social responsibility. This thesis is interested in what kind of governance instrument the UNGC is, and how the relationship between the public and private sector is redefined in it. In addition, private regulation is also being studied as a wider phenomenon. Rule-takers have become rulemakers, and private regulations become de facto mandatory at times. This thesis is therefore also interested in how the private sector’s private regulation has contributed to global governance.
This thesis therefore aims at increasing understanding of the fact that when the world changes, the ways of global governance should change accordingly. This thesis reflects a modern approach to understanding international law. In modern governance, law is taking its place in an expanded selection of law-like regulatory activities, and non-state actors are noticed as steering behavior, too. Hence, this thesis reflects sociology of law. The world and phenomena are always multi-dimensional, but in this thesis, some simplifications are made and some dichotomies are used in order to make the topics more manageable.
Over the past few decades, governments of states have several times tried to bring about a comprehensive regime for regulating international corporate behavior, but it has not yet succeeded. Some reasons have also been presented why it might not be successful in the future either. The traditional treaty-based system of governance is struggling to cope with some of the modern global challenges, and in some issues, it has proven to be insufficient. There are challenges that the public sector is not able to solve alone.
Hence, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) has been launched as a modern global governance instrument that strives to promote corporate social responsibility. This thesis is interested in what kind of governance instrument the UNGC is, and how the relationship between the public and private sector is redefined in it. In addition, private regulation is also being studied as a wider phenomenon. Rule-takers have become rulemakers, and private regulations become de facto mandatory at times. This thesis is therefore also interested in how the private sector’s private regulation has contributed to global governance.
This thesis therefore aims at increasing understanding of the fact that when the world changes, the ways of global governance should change accordingly. This thesis reflects a modern approach to understanding international law. In modern governance, law is taking its place in an expanded selection of law-like regulatory activities, and non-state actors are noticed as steering behavior, too. Hence, this thesis reflects sociology of law. The world and phenomena are always multi-dimensional, but in this thesis, some simplifications are made and some dichotomies are used in order to make the topics more manageable.