Overlapping spheres of authority and interface conflicts in the global order: Introducing a DFG research group

The DFG research group, "Overlapping Spheres of Authority and Interface Conflicts in the Global Order" (OSAIC), focuses on the rise of interface conflicts within and across overlapping spheres of authority. The increased institutional production of norms in the international realm leads to both horizontal interface conflicts at the same level of governance (e.g. across two or more international spheres of authority) and vertical interface conflicts across spheres of authority on different levels (e.g. international and national spheres of authority). Under which conditions become such conflicts manifest? What are the responses to conflicting rules originating from overlapping spheres of authority? To what extent are these responses guided by normative principles? If responses are justified with reference to normative principles, what are these principles and how are they operationalized concretely? What consequences do the different ways of responding to interface conflicts have for the global order as a whole? With these questions, the research group moves beyond the study of issue-area specific international institutions or organizations, and targets the question of the international order understood as a system of overlapping and interacting spheres of authority. In order to answer these questions, the research group proceeds in four steps. First, we utilize different methods for identifying such conflicts in order get a better understanding of the extent and content of interface conflicts. Second, we develop an empirically validated typology capable of grasping systematically the variety of responses to interface conflicts. Third, we use this typology as a basis for explaining variance in the responses to interface conflicts and for analyzing the consequences of different responses for the global political order. Fourth, we seek to reconstruct existing normative practices and develop standards for their evaluation.