Researchers, policymakers and the representatives of international organisations increasingly use the term “social contract” to describe relations between societal groups and a state. The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, for example, has declared that “now is the time to renew the...

Since 1971, the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos has attracted the leadership of global corporations. Attendance may offer economic benefits through networking and political support or provide only private gains without measurable impact. Through creating a novel database of...

The international financial architecture is misaligned with the goals set out in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris climate agreement. External financing flows to emerging-market and developing countries (excluding China) need be increasing by at least US$1 trillion annually from...

Using archival material from states, international organizations, and business actors, this paper explores how the Association for the Promotion and Protection of Private Foreign Investments (APPI), a transnational business interest association (BIA), liaised with different international...

The European Commission, Italy, and Greece are seeking to curb irregular migration through Libya. These efforts come at a time when several aspects of European Union (EU) migration policy in Libya must be acknowledged as having failed. This is particularly true of attempts to improve conditions...

We investigate China's influence at the United Nations by focusing on the promotion of its narratives (words) and its voting behaviour (deeds). For the former, we assess the extent to which China's global initiatives have become embedded in UN discourse compared to Western initiatives. For the...

Österreich, und insbesondere die Bundeshauptstadt Wien, ist Sitz zahlreicher Internationaler Organisationen und diplomatischer Vertretungen. In diesen arbeiten mehr als 10.000 internationale Beschäftigte. Auch wenn diese Beschäftigten sowie nicht die gesamte Wertschöpfung in Verbindung mit...

Relations between the global North and global South have grown more contentious in recent years. As frustration rises in tandem with global power shifts, the United Nations (UN) has become an arena for the negotiation of a new global governance. Within this framing, the Group of 77 (G77),...

Economic development in Africa is among the most important global challenges today. Meanwhile, the G7 is under pressure due to system competition and the question of legitimacy and effectiveness. The recent PGII initiative uses investment to improve economic development in Africa. But what about...

The United Nations General Assembly has taken up Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) twice in the past decade, but the follow-through on commitments and financing of both Global and National Action Plans on AMR have lagged considerably behind the policymaker pronouncements. The need to update the...

In June 2022, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) published the "Action Agenda on Internal Displacement". It aims to fundamentally reform the way internal displacement is addressed. On the one hand, the focus must shift from short-term humanitarian aid to more development-oriented...

Communication professionals working for International Organizations (IOs) are important intermediaries of global governance that increasingly use social media to reach out to citizens directly. Social media pose new challenges for IO public communication, such as a highly competitive economy of...

A second presidential term for Donald Trump would undoubtedly have huge impacts on topics in all areas of international relations - topics that are intrinsically relevant to all actors due to the status of the United States as a world power. Trump's political agenda differs considerably from...

The complex web of challenges confronting humanity - climate change, pandemics, economic inequality, and violent conflict - demands a robust global governance system. However, the current architecture, centred on the United Nations, is widely considered inadequate. This document delves into this...

Four decades ago, the main actors in global health were the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United States of America and Northern European countries (through bilateral cooperation). Today we are witnessing a proliferation of actors in this...

A peculiar treaty management organization operates under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement that does not fit established categories of international law and political science. Unlike traditional international organizations (IOs), it lacks the formal status of an IO, comprises only a limited...

This article examines the human rights implications of the asset freezing processes available to the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Security Council. It does so through the lens of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human...

This article explores some of the highlights of the United Handbook on Carbon Taxation, that was produced by the Subcommittee on Environmental Taxation under the mandate of the United Nations Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters. The article analyses the existing...

This volume examines in an innovative and applied perspective the interdependence between the role of international organizations, the existence of global public goods and the need of sustainable development. Moreover, it is set within the context of current challenges in today’s world of...

The idea to solve disputes through peaceful means is not new. The actions of the international organizations add to the efforts made by the states that in any dispute between them to be no place for force and power, but only for persuasion and reason. In the center of the preoccupations of the...

In 2022, the process of gradual destruction of multilateralization gave way to an acute crisis. Multiple challenges, including a continued spread of new strains of coronavirus, disruptions in supply chains, appreciation of prices for food and energy, rising inflation, slowdown of economic growth...

With the proliferation of international organizations (IOs), legitimacy has become a key for IOs to stay relevant, and to retain their focal places or leadership in the regime complex. While increasing attention is given to institutional overlap and regime complexity in the international...

In this working paper, we interrogate the ways anti-gender, or "pro-family", actors and organizations are using the frameworks and language of "development" to advance arguments and policies that restrict the rights of LGBTIQ+ people and seek to limit how we understand sexual and reproductive...

What is "digital trade" and how can it be measured and monitored to support policymakers in navigating the digital transformation of international commerce? Digital technologies have made it increasingly feasible for buyers and sellers to place and receive orders on a global scale. They also...