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AbstractIn this article we investigate why some hometowns in Ghana are more successful than others in mobilizing resources for community development projects from their hometown associations (HTAs) abroad. We analyse the praxis of HTA‐financed development by studying all actors involved in the process – HTAs and migrants abroad and local community leaders and their populations in Ghana. We find there is a relationship between the size of the community and the effectiveness of HTA mobilization. From a matched sample of five villages and towns in Ghana and their respective HTAs in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, we conclude that three important factors are at play in the relationship between size and effectiveness – the micro‐politics of relationships between migrant and local leaders; the institutions that exist at the village/town level to create incentives or sanctions for migrants; and the relationships of trust between the different actors involved.

Mobility across the Taiwan Strait has intensified since the border was opened in 1987. The cross-border social, cultural and economic exchanges, however, have remained closely embedded in the nationalistic logic specific to cross-Strait relations. Employing a state-centered approach and building on a comparative analysis of the interaction between Beijing and two groups of cross-Strait migrants (mainland spouses in Taiwan, and Taiwanese investors in China), this paper examines the various ways in which a state may still exert influence over migrant communities in a context of increased mobility and exchanges. This paper argues that the nation-state may still shape migrants' experiences, particularly when sending and receiving governments have unresolved disputes. Under these conditions, state actors may use migrant communities to achieve their nationalistic goals.

Mobility across the Taiwan Strait has intensified since the border was opened in 1987. The cross-border social, cultural and economic exchanges, however, have remained closely embedded in the nationalistic logic specific to cross-Strait relations. Employing a state-centered approach and building on a comparative analysis of the interaction between Beijing and two groups of cross-Strait migrants (mainland spouses in Taiwan, and Taiwanese investors in China), this paper examines the various ways in which a state may still exert influence over migrant communities in a context of increased mobility and exchanges. This paper argues that the nation-state may still shape migrants' experiences, particularly when sending and receiving governments have unresolved disputes. Under these conditions, state actors may use migrant communities to achieve their nationalistic goals.

First published online: 05 January 2021 ; Heritage is increasingly promoted as a tool for economic and social development to help rebuild societies that have suffered conflict and deep social trauma. Heritage diplomacy is an emergent form of cultural relations that forms a 'contact zone' between different stakeholders and divergent expectations. This paper explores some aspects of this field of heritage diplomacy and develops a basic typology by contrasting the tension between the uses of 'charismatic heritage diplomacy' and more 'careful heritage diplomacy'. It examines differences between local realities and international expectations of heritage by bringing together two case studies: one from a Creative Europe–funded project where civil society actors develop strategies for working with the difficult heritage that lies behind nationalist myths, and the other from a British Council–funded programme dealing with endangered heritage in the MENA region. Critical studies of heritage-making often pitch the local against the international, with grassroot activities contrasted with international rhetoric surrounding heritage places, objects and practices. However, this dichotomy can mask other actors and social dynamics, not least the subtleties of how the collective traumas of conflict play out in the cultural field. The idea of heritage diplomacy as a 'contact zone' (Clifford 1997) highlights that heritage-making in (post-)conflict cultural relations is an ontological encounter between international agents and the traumatised communities for whom the stakes are, inevitably, higher. Mediated through the transnational best practices of heritage professionals, and through the visible pragmatism of civil society heritage activists, the impacts of heritage-making nevertheless remain complicated and entangled. ; This article was published Open Access with the support from the EUI Library through the CRUI - Springer Transformative Agreement (2020-2024)

Globalization has encouraged worldwide mobility, intensified migration and supported growing interconnectedness through new technologies; it has therefore substantially contributed to the development of so-called transnational spaces. This volume focuses on transnational spaces which should not be understood as locations on a map or as sealed containers, but instead as relational social areas which are composed of various relationships. Transnationalization increases liberation and/or emancipation from place because social relations overcome physical space and local, regional and national boundaries. As a consequence, a reconfiguration of social, cultural, political and economic scopes of action occurs. This volume reveals that for people in general and for migration movements in particular, new borders have been established in many places all over the world. The biographies of global actors and migrants reference this alteration of space. Additionally this volume calls special attention to border regions and their social configurations. Borders appear as narratives which can have an enormous impact on social structures. This book further deals with different aspects and various tensions having to do with local and global change, interplay and interdependence. Globalization leads to development that often ignores regional needs, supports the continuation of post-colonial power and maintains hegemonic dominance.

What explains variation in the tactical choices of non-governmental organizations (NGOs)? This article uses network autocorrelation models to establish how the tactical choices of climate change NGOs are shaped by their embeddedness in transnational advocacy networks. Specifically, it finds that NGOs are more likely to adopt protest tactics when adjacent organizations – those with whom they have direct ties – have already done so. The choices of equivalent organizations – those that occupy similar relational roles in the network – do not appear to be influential. Qualitative evidence also shows that NGOs are affected by relational pressure from their peers, which alters their perception of costs and benefits. These findings enhance understanding of how networks influence actors' behavior and offer insights into the relational processes that generate protest in global politics.

This working paper examines migration as part of a large network of relations between Kuwait and the region of Baltistan in northeastern Pakistan. Apart from migrants, this network involves the participation of philanthropists from the Kuwaiti merchant class who finance development projects in Baltistan and religious clerics from Baltistan who have been educated in the Gulf and who engage in fundraising activities there to contribute to the development of their home areas. Hence, the paper discusses the relationship between migration, development and religion by referring to three accounts circulating in Baltistan of how migration to the Gulf began, the relationship of migration and development, and the role of local religious leaders in it. Migration is central in shaping and reinforcing ties over the course of time between these two regions, but it is rendered invisible in the narratives of charity and development. This transnational activity is characterised as much as by the crossing of state borders, and thus the actors' engagement in two or more societies, as by the actors being in an ambivalent position in terms of belonging to their own state. The study of this transnational space helps us to understand relations between these two territories in terms of how the participants in the network position themselves vis-à-vis their own state, on the grounds of need and solidarity but also in terms of other interests that are connected to the realities of their respective homelands.

Transnational Municipal Networks (TMNs) are increasing in size, scope and number on the global arena. They reflect a tendency for city governments to coordinate environmental action through networked forms of governance. In this article, we argue that a new generation of TMNs has entered the global scene to help cities steer their efforts to handle environmental issues. In contrast to the characteristics of older TMNs as public, inclusive, and self-governed, new-generation TMNs are influenced by private actors, they are exclusive, and employ enforcement mechanisms to secure the fulfilment of network goals. To underline the diversity of TMNs and thus better understand urban networked governance, we present a case study of the 100 Resilient Cities initiative covering its conduct in 2013–2019. Looking at its actor composition and membership terms, we identify a hybrid nature different from the one described in earlier literature on European TMNs primarily. This subscription to a hybrid form of governance calls for a larger discussion on the implications of this shift in governance type and on the extent to which hybridisation implies a shift of power from the public to the private sphere.

Since the 1990s, regional organizations of the United Nations and international financial institutions have adopted a new dynamic of transnational integration, within the framework of the regionalization process of globalization. In place of the growth triangles of the 1970s, a strategy based on transnational economic corridors has changed the scale of regionalization.Thanks to the initiative of the Asian Development Bank, Southeast Asia provides two of the most advanced examples of such a process in East Asia with, on the one hand, the Greater Mekong Subregion, structured by continental corridors, and on the other, the Malacca Straits, combining maritime and land corridors. This book compares, after two decades, the effects of these developing networks on transnational integration in both subregions.After presenting the general issue of economic corridors, the work deals with the characteristics and structures peculiar to these two regions, followed by a study of national strategies mobilizing actors at different levels of state organization. There follows a study of the emergence of new urban nodes on corridors at land and sea borders, and the impact of these corridors on the local societies. This approach makes it possible to compare the effects of transnational integration processes on the spatial and urban organization of the two subregions and on the increasing diversity of the stakeholders involved

AbstractSlovenia, a country that faced dramatic decline in economic growth and a relatively new European Union member, recently broke with the EU's consensus and announced its support for the proposed Convention on the Rights of Older Persons, a treaty widely expected to be very costly to implement. Using process tracing, counter‐factual analysis and a range of primary and secondary qualitative data sources, in this article I explore the influence of a transnational advocacy network (TAN) on this policy shift and the relevance of national actors and structures. I argue that while people often see TANs as motivated by principled and material imperatives, scholars have mainly explored how and why ostensibly moral transnational actors, such as international non‐governmental organizations, behave instrumentally. In this article, I invert this focus by discussing why a domestic TAN partner – a traditional interest group – mobilized around a human rights issue advanced by a TAN. In doing so, I draw on ideas from social movement studies and, more recently, from international relations to highlight the importance of domestic structures in constituting the identity and interests of individuals and organizations, and therefore their likelihood of supporting transnational norms. I seek to contribute to our understanding of the circumstances under which TANs succeed by unpacking the interactions between the national origin of domestic interest groups, and the crucial links between transnational and domestic groups that are responsible for TANs forming and thereby potentially exerting influence.

Parisaftalen under FN's klimakonvention fastlægger det internationale samfunds plan for at begrænse den globale opvarmning. Planen er formuleret omkring de individuelle bidrag, som hver part i konventionen er parat til at yde, baseret på den enkeltes evner og det såkaldte princip om fælles men differentieret ansvar. Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan nationale regeringer reagerer på udfordringerne forbundet med at bestemme typen og omfanget af disse bidrag og på implementeringen af dem. Afhandlingen fokuserer på fire udfordringer, der er fælles for de fleste, hvis ikke alle, regeringer: integration af usikkerheder i politikker og planer på nationalt niveau; reduktion af regressive fordelingsvirkninger forbundet med foranstaltninger til at begrænse og tilpasse klimaforandringer; øgning af adgang til teknologier, der er nødvendige for at begrænse klimaforandringerne, for lavindkomstlande; og "transnational governance" for klimaforandringer. Hver udfordring udforskes gennem to artikler, hvilket giver mulighed for en mere nuanceret analyse. Begrænsede eller ingen krav for visse aspekter af den politiske beslutningsproces er kernen i nogle af de udfordringer, regeringer står overfor. To eksempler kan illustrere dette. For det første bygger politisk planlægning på nationalt plan på fremskrivninger af udledning af drivhusgasser. Ofte afspejler disse fremskrivninger ikke den aktuelle viden med hensyn til styring af usikkerhed. Minimumsstandarder for kvalitet kan hjælpe med at vende denne tendens og dermed øge robustheden i nationale politiske planer og indirekte styrke den internationale indsats mod klimaforandringer. For det andet, fordi indsatsen mod klimaforandringer i stigende grad involverer andre aktører end nationale regeringer – fra virksomheder, til subnationale og overstatslige enheder, til ikke-statslige organisationer – strækker behovet for at indføre præstationskrav sig ud over de nationale regeringer. Specifikt antyder Parisaftalen og efterfølgende beslutninger truffet af parterne i konventionen effektivt, at ikke-statslige aktører vil hjælpe med at opfylde konventionens mål og kompensere for potentielt utilstrækkelige indsatser fra statslige aktører. Uanset ikkestatslige aktørers evne til at leve op til disse forventninger er deres handlinger i de fleste tilfælde ikke underlagt grundlæggende ansvarlighedsmekanismer. En sådan mangel på gennemsigtighed, som performancekrav kunne imødegå, risikerer at underminere det ellers fornuftige mål om at udnytte ikke-statslige aktørers opfindsomhed og ressourcer til at supplere staters handlinger. På områder, hvor der foreligger evaluerende bevismateriale, såsom teknologioverførsel eller distributionskonsekvenser, repræsenterer begrænset anvendelse af dette bevismateriale i den politiske beslutningsproces en anden type udfordring, som regeringerne står overfor. Denne afhandling undersøger en række sager inden for disse to områder og finder undgåelige mangler ved programdesign. Årsagerne til udbredelsen af disse mangler er sandsynligvis strukturelle: evalueringer af politik kæmper med at bestemme "counterfactuals" og etablere "attribution", og regeringsførelse og lovgivningsmæssige rammer har ofte brug for revision. ; The Paris Agreement, under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, lays out the international community's blueprint for curbing global warming. It is a blueprint articulated around the individual contributions that each party to the Convention is prepared to make, in light of its capabilities and the so-called principle of common-but-differentiated responsibilities. This thesis explores how national governments are responding to the challenges associated with determining the nature and scope of those contributions, and implementing them. The thesis focuses on four challenges that are common to most, if not all, governments: integrating uncertainty into national-level policies and plans; reducing regressive distributional impacts associated with measures to mitigate, and adapt to, climate change; increasing low income-country access to the technologies needed to curb climate change; and governing climate change transnationally. Each challenge is explored through two articles, thus allowing for a more nuanced analysis. Limited or no performance requirements for certain aspects of the policy-making process is at the heart of some of the challenges faced by governments. Two examples serve to illustrate this point. First, national-level policy planning relies on projections of greenhouse-gas emissions. For the most, these projections fail to reflect current knowledge with regard to uncertainty management. Minimum quality standards could help reverse this trend, thus increasing the robustness of national policy plans and, indirectly, strengthening the international climate change regime. Second, because climate change governance increasingly involves actors other than national governments – from businesses, to subnational and supranational governmental entities, to non-governmental organisations –, the need to introduce performance requirements extends beyond national governments. Specifically, the Paris Agreement, and subsequent decisions by the parties to the Convention, effectively suggest that non-state actors will help deliver on the goals of the Convention, making up for potentially insufficient delivery by state actors. Irrespective of the ability of non-state actors to live up to these xpectations, in most cases their actions are not subject to basic accountability mechanisms. Such lack of transparency, which performance requirements could counter, risks undermining the otherwise sensible goal of harnessing non-state actor ingenuity and resources, to complement state actor action. In areas where evaluative evidence is available, such as technology transfer or distributional impacts, limited uptake of that evidence in the policy-making process represents a second type of challenge faced by governments. The thesis studies a number of cases in these two areas, and notes avoidable programme-design shortcomings. Reasons for the prevalence of these shortcomings are likely to be structural: policy evaluations struggle to determine counterfactuals and establish attribution, and governance arrangements and regulatory frameworks often need revision.

In dit proefschrift staat de vraag in hoeverre de good governance van transnationale ondernemingen geïnformeerd kan worden door sociale duurzaamheid centraal. Met betrekking tot good governance en sociale duurzaamheid stelt het eerste deel vast dat zij een moreel fundament missen waarop reguleringsmechanismen kunnen stoelen. Dit morele fundament is het best geformuleerd in termen van mensenrechten. De voorgestelde conceptie van mensenrechten geeft richting aan de plichten die actoren hebben. In het tweede deel staat de praktijk en context waarin transnationale ondernemingen opereren centraal. Twee cases worden hier bestudeerd en geanalyseerd in licht van het eerste deel. De eerste case behandeld de groeiende macht van technologische corporaties door de handel in persoonlijke data. Deze bedrijven bedreigen sociale duurzaamheid door fundamentele rechten te ondermijnen. Tegelijkertijd hebben zij ook positieve invloed door communicatie en technologische innovatie mogelijk te maken. De tweede case behandeld transnationale supply-chains met de maak van Apple's iPhone in China als voorbeeld. In deze supply-chain worden mensenrechten structureel ondermijnt. Echter is het werk dat zij bieden vaak beter dan vergelijkbaar werk in de lokale economie. Ook hier zijn er zowel positieve als negatieve effecten op sociale duurzaamheid. In het derde deel worden deze conclusies samengebracht en gekeken naar mogelijke rechtvaardige vormen om deze transnationale ondernemingen te reguleren. Geconcludeerd wordt, ten eerste, dat deze regulering moet worden geformuleerd op het niveau van 'transnational civil society'. Ten tweede dat deze geformuleerd moet worden op basis van gelijkheid tussen actoren en, ten derde, dat deze niet gecodificeerd dient te worden in positief recht. ; Central in this thesis is the question to what extent the good governance of transnational corporations can be informed by a concern for social sustainability. The first part argues that the concepts of good governance and social sustainability lack a normative grounding on which governance mechanisms can base themselves. This normative ground is best conceptualised in terms of human rights and proposed human rights conception gives guidance in assigning responsibilities to different actors. The second part studies the practice of and context within which transnational corporations operate through two cases studied light of the previous conclusions. The first case concerns the growing power of tech-corporations through the collection of personal data. These corporations threaten social sustainability by undermining fundamental rights. Simultaneously, they also positively affect social sustainability by enabling communication and innovation. The second case delves into transnational supply-chains through the example of the production of Apple's iPhone in China. In these supply-chains fundamental rights are continuously undermined. However, working conditions are often better than in comparable jobs in the local economy. Here too there are positive and negative effects. The third part brings together the conclusions and conceptualises legitimate governance mechanisms to regulate transnational private relationships. In concludes that such governance mechanisms should, firstly, be formulated at the level of transnational civil society. Secondly, that in formulating these mechanisms all stakeholder should be represented on the basis of equality. Thirdly, these mechanisms should not be incorporated in to positive law but should rather function as aspirational soft law norms.