Epistemic Governance by Pertti Alasuutari & Ali Qadir

Author:Pertti Alasuutari & Ali Qadir
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030191504
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Conclusion

Taking the SDGs as a case example, in this chapter we asked how to account for the existence, and rapid increase in the number, of IGOs in the modern world. Existing research accounts for the IGOs’ role by suggesting where power resides. Neorealist and neoliberal approaches suggest that they serve the interests of states as the principal actors, whereas institutionalist approaches attribute autonomous power to IGOs themselves or to groups of actors such as scientists influencing state policies through IGOs . Finally, world society theory proposes that actors in the modern world are agents of world culture, enacting the scripts that pervade rationalism to all walks of life. While taking on board many points made in previous research, we approached the phenomenon from the EG perspective by asking how to understand various actors’ interest in IGOs. Given the eagerness with which states have established IGOs and various actors have sought to advance their objectives through them shows that people believe in IGOs’ ability to change the world. From this vantage point the question is, what assumptions of a shared worldview do the actors involved appeal to in trying to affect others’ conduct?

It is obvious that people respect credible, impartial scientific evidence. In the case of SDGs, for instance, the UN’s authority relies on a long line of empirical evidence that defines the state of the environment and justifies the policy recommendations. Respect for scientific evidence is apparent also in the ways the UN and various stakeholders have tried to affect the views and conduct of others. In the SDGs project, the UN has tried to incorporate different scientific communities in defining reality and the policy measures that are needed. The same goes for others, such as states, INGOs and climate change denialists: they appeal to facts and evidence and may also claim to represent scientific expertise.

Political actors also try to buttress people’s belief in IGOs’ power by resorting to prevalent imageries of the social world. To that end, IGOs may be branded not only as reliable sources of information about reality but as powerful organizations that can use force to impose their will on their member states and other actors in the world. In this instance, branding resorts to the imagery of world society as a bureaucratic power hierarchy, with IGOs—or the UN system—functioning as the world government.

Entwined with epistemic work focusing on the ontology of the environment, IGOs’ influence also depends on their proficiency to act upon people’s norms and identifications. As an organization that has been able to unite nations under shared norms and ideals such as human rights, the UN carries weight as a moral authority: political actors can justify their views by appealing to globally agreed-upon principles or, say, criticize others’ behavior by pointing out how it violates UN resolutions. IGOs’ influence also rests on their success in bargaining between patriotism and cosmopolitanism. If political decision-makers only identify with their nation and its interests, they consider international agreements created by an IO as limitations and respect them only if they believe that the international community has ways to punish violators.

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