International Organizations as Corporate Actors: Agency and Emergence in Theories of International Relations

In this paper, the implicit and explicit conceptualizations of international organizations found in the three major theories of international relations are outlined and compared. It turns out that in a neorealist framework, international organizations can be explained; however, they exhibit no autonomy and cannot therefore be conceptualized as a corporate actor. Principally, the same applies to rational choice institutionalism, although limited autonomy is conceivable. Both theories are reductionist in the sense that they do not allow a corporate actor beyond the nation-state. International organizations are at best instruments of state interests. Solely social constructivist theories allow a conceptualization of international organizations as partly autonomous corporate actors. The reason for this conceptual openness lies in its ontology that includes ideational factors such as knowledge and ideas. The concept of emergence gives the core explanation for international organization autonomy: identities and interests of states and international organizations constitute each other mutually. This is specified by referring to the generation of new knowledge within international organizations as the key feature which accounts for feedbacks to the member-states of international organizations. This power of international organizations to alter perceptions and identities of their own ‘founding fathers’ makes them more than state instruments. International organizations thereby gain autonomy, which justifies conceiving of them as high-order corporate actors in international relations.

Part 2: Consumer Data: Introduction

The obvious issue of consumer data in the context of consumer policy is the mass of data that consumers voluntarily or involuntarily produce and diffuse. Thereby, consumers run the risk that their data is not only being used to their benefit, but also being abused. This is particularly the case with personal and sensitive data that can clearly lead to serious harm for consumers, if this data falls into the wrong hands. Typically, in an open market economy there are commercial interests, seeking new, technical ways to access consumer data for the sake of profit maximisation. The contributions to this part show that this is an important field to be addressed by consumer policy

Auf der schiefen Bahn: Die deutsche Lohnpolitik verschärft die Krise

Die Wachstumsschwäche der deutschen Wirtschaft fordert Erklärungsansätze heraus. Während viele Ökonomen die Ursachen für die deutsche Wachstums- und Beschäftigungskrise bei den Angebotsbedingungen sehen, plädieren Dr. Heiner Flassbeck und Remi Maier-Rigaud dafür, der Nachfrageseite und der Lohnpolitik mehr Beachtung zu schenken. --

Nudging towards a healthier life? Conceptualising the role of health apps and wearables between empowerment and manipulation

"What once has been thought, cannot be taken back." (Friedrich Dürrenmatt, The Physicists) In Dürrenmatts play, the physicist Möbius has discovered the world formula and is afraid of its destructive potential, which poses a threat to global security. In order to ensure that his dismal discovery will not become harmful, he checks into a lunatic asylum. Tragically, his plan fails and his discovery falls into the wrong hands, which leads him to resignation and to the above-quoted insight. The lesson to be drawn from this play is that technological innovations have a huge influence on individual and social behaviour and that we cannot stop new technology from being used. However, we have the possibility to establish forms of public governance, ensuring that innovation works for the individual and common good. Health apps and wearables may appear to be a comparatively minor innovation, but they have the potential to change our society significantly, and the widespread use of this technology reminds us that it is high-time to analyse its potential, ranging from empowerment to the manipulation of users

Am J Trop Med Hyg

Counterfeit (or falsified) and substandard medicines pose a major public health risk. We describe the findings of Operation Storm I and II conducted in 2008-2009 to combat counterfeit medicines through partnership between national customs, Drug Regulatory Agencies (DRAs), and police in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Samples were obtained from seizures and market surveillance by national DRAs. Laboratory analysis using spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques and examination of packaging were performed. Ninety-three suspect antibiotics and 95 antimalarial samples were collected. Of the 93 antibiotics, 29 (31%) had % active pharmaceutical ingredient content (%API) 115% (including one counterfeit). Of the 95 antimalarials, 30 (32%) had %API 115% API (including one counterfeit). A significant minority of samples, antimalarials (13%) and antibiotics (15%), were collected in plastic bags with minimal or no labeling. Of 20 ampicillin samples, 13 (65%) contained < 85% API (with one counterfeit containing additional amoxicillin). Of 34 oral artesunate samples, 7 (21%) contained %API out of the 85-115% range. Coordinated and synergistic partnership adopted by the participating countries, International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), World Health Organization (WHO), and laboratories facilitated a platform for discussions and intelligence sharing, helping to improve each participating country's capacity to combat poor-quality medicines.2015-06-03T00:00:00

Buchbesprechung

Finis Siegler, Beate: Entwicklung einer Ökonomik Sozialer Arbeit aus der Retrospektive, Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 2021; 266 Seite

Global Pension Policies | Programs, frames and paradigms of the World Bank and the International Labour Organization

Pension policies are traditionally and still today mainly legislated at the national level. This is due to the lack of a genuine global problem structure that would require transnational action in this field. Yet, in recent years the process of generating new pension policies has become global. Pension policies are increasingly under the influence of global actors, namely the World Bank and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Based on the assumption that international organizations are emergent, partly autonomous corporate actors, the models and ideas diffused by those organizations in the field of old-age pensions are analyzed. Both organizations diffuse ideas on how to conceive of the problem of old-age security and how to respond with adequate solutions.Since the mid 1990s the active diffusion of pension policies by the World Bank dominates pension reform efforts throughout the world. Its advice to build up multipillar schemes with a strong emphasis on private, funded and defined contribution elements had lasting impacts on national pension policies, especially in Latin America and Eastern Europe. In the face of this competition by the World Bank, the ILO, who traditionally advocated social insurance schemes, lost ground in the global pension debate.By decomposing ideas into paradigms, frames and programs an in-depth comparative knowledge of the pension policies promoted by World Bank and ILO is provided. One of the main findings is that the strong agenda-setting power of the World Bank is also a result of its homogenous paradigmatic foundation. Hence, ideas account for the power of the World Bank alongside conventional explanations that emphasize its ability to impose loan conditionalities. One example of the independent power of ideas is that following recent EU enlargement the World Bank type pension reforms formerly implemented in Eastern Europe could now become a benchmark within the EU. Thus, World Bank ideas would have found an indirect way to influence the pension policies of the EU-15