Comparing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the United Nations and the European Union across a range of different issue areas, this volume examines how the choice of venue and institution affects the strategies of NGOs.
Despite significant differences with respect to their scope, membership as well as their institutional rules, the authors find that the UN and the EU have surprisingly similar effects on civil society organizations and regulate access in such a way that it significantly constrains the agency of NGOs. Highlights include:
A comprehensive outline of the volume’s main research questions, situated within the existing literature on the topic
Eight case studies of NGO involvement in the UN and the EU across a range of different areas, including human rights, the environment, socio-economic and security issues
A theoretically grounded summary of case study findings, challenging the findings of previous studies regarding the power of NGOs
A discussion of the finding’s implications for the broader literature, as well as for studies relating to the EU and the UN in particular
Transnational Activism in the UN and the EU will be of interest to students and scholars of International Relations, European Studies, and Global Politics.
Jutta Joachim is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Hannover, Germany.
Birgit Locher is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Tübingen, Germany.
Part 1: Introduction 1. Transnational Activism in the UN and the EU Part 2: Transnational Activism in the UN 2. Civil Society Organizations in the UN 3. Where the States are: Environmental NGOs and the UN Climate Change Negotiations 4. Human Rights NGOs at the United Nations: Developing an Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture 5. Political Opportunity Structures and Non-Sate Influence at the World Bank: Making the Case for Transparency 6. Negotiating Human Security at the UN: Transnational Civil Society, Arms Control and Disarmament Part 3: Transnational Activism in the EU 7. Institutions and Civil Society Organizations in the EU’s Multi-Level System 8. NGOs, the European Union and the Case of Environment 9. Safeguarding Asylum as a Human Right: NGOs and the European Union 10. Pan-European NGOs and Social Rights: Participatory Democracy and Civil Dialogue 11. NGOs and Security: The Case of the European Union Part 4: Conclusion 12. Worlds Apart or Worlds Together? Transnational Activism in the UN and the EU
University of Hannover, Germany University of Tuebingen, Germany
