Political Authority in Transnational Governance Arrangements: Regulation through Public and Private Labour, Social and Environmental Standards in the Asian Textile and Apparel Industry
The textile and apparel industry is a prime example of a globalised value chain. As state-based regulation – either in the form of national law or public international law – is unable to effectively safeguard fundamental labour standards and internationally recognised rights at work or prevent damage to the environment along such a globalised production chain, a plethora of transnational standards has emerged, ranging from private regulation by purely business-driven initiatives to regulation by multi-stakeholder initiatives. Some of these initiatives are also discussed in the context of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The different types of transnational private and multi-stakeholder regulation do not stand in isolation. They interact in magnifold ways with classic state-based regulation on different policy levels (national, regional, global) and from different jurisdictions.
In an interdisciplinary research project entitled "Political Authority in Transnational Governance Arrangements" researchers from the Institute of Development Research and Development Policy (IEE) and the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) seek to analyse patterns of interaction of public and private regulation of labour, social and environmental standards in the textile and apparel industry in Bangladesh and Cambodia. The project aims to give a current empirical account of these governance arrangements. Therefore, insights are sought from interviews with various stakeholders in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Europe, such as government representatives, other public authorities, national and international organizations, representatives of enterprises and business associations, trade unions, workers, civil society organisations and academic experts. The project is financed by the German Mercator Research Center Ruhr (MERCUR) for the period of two years.
The project combines a legal and a political science perspective. Researchers from the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF) of the University Duisburg-Essen bring in a political science perspective, while legal expertise is contributed by IEE director Markus Kaltenborn, IEE research fellow Johannes Norpoth and Nina Geerkens from the Faculty of Law at the Ruhr-University Bochum. The project marks the first research cooperation between IEE and INEF under the roof of the UA Ruhr Graduate Center for Development Studies.
Related to its activities in the interdisciplinary research project, the IEE has joined the German Partnership for Sustainable Textiles in January 2016.
Johannes Norpoth, LL.M.
Research Fellow
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Phone: | +49 (0)234 / 32-25148 |
Fax: | +49 (0)234 / 32-14294 |
Nina Geerkens, B.A.
Research Fellow, Chair of Prof. Dr. Markus Kaltenborn, Law Faculty
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Phone: | +49 (0)234 / 32-19003 |
Fax: | +49 (0)234 / 32-14294 |