Seminar Participating in Global Governance

The collision between powerful economic institutions and social movements in many countries has led to a contest over Global Governance. The contest takes place over the form of the institutions (their structure, decision-making procedures) and over the content of their policies (free-market oriented or balancing of social values by reconciling economic and social goals). This contest is the subject of this course. The course deals with the different strategies developed by trade unions and social movements to influence Global Governance. The European experience in the post-war Keynesian era was built around the notion of social dialogue and a social partnership. This strategy of engagement with Global Governance was expressed through tripartite `political exchange´ in which unions committed to wage moderation in return for full-employment policies and comprehensive social protection. But tripartism is being eroded in developed countries and it is weak in most developing countries. Our focus is on developing countries in the Global South and on strategies of precarious workers in the Global North. We will examine the forms of labour unrest and organisation and better understand the participation of the labour movement in Global Governance. Learning Outcome and Competencies: - Understanding the contestation over form (structure and procedures) and content (economic and social) of Global Governance - Understanding different strategies developed by trade unions and social movements to influence Global Governance. - Understanding the forms of labor unrest and organization emerging in the Global South and possible ways of increasing the participation of the labor movement in Global Governance. - Competencies: Participants should improve and increase their ability to analyze and develop strategies to engage in Global Governance Recommended literature: Hyman, Richard (2002): Where does solidarity end? In: Eurozine, www.eurozine.com/articles/2002-2009-2017-hyman-en.html (20.03.2012). Frundt, Henry J. (2005): Movement Theory and International Labor Solidarity. In: Labour Studies Journal, 30, 2, 19-40. Bowles, Paul (2010): Globalization's Problematic for Labor: Three Paradigms. In: Global Labour Journal, 1, 1, 10-31. Brand, Ulrich (2005): Order and regulation: Global Governance as a hegemonic discourse of international politics? In: Review of International Political Economy, 12, 1, 155-176. Lévesque, Christian; Murray, Gregor (2002): Local versus Global: Activating Local Union Power in the Global Economy. In: Labor Studies Journal, 27, 3, 39-65. Wells, Don (2009): Local Worker Struggles in the Global South: reconsidering Northern impacts on international labour standards. In: Third World Quarterly, 30, 3, 567-579. Bieler, Andreas; Lindberg, Ingemar (ed.): Global Restructuring, Labour and the Challenges for Transnational Solidarity. London, New York: Routledge. Webster, Edward; Lambert, Rob; Bezuidenhout, Andries (ed.): Grounding Globalization: Labour in the Age of Insecurity. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Schwenken, Helen; Elisabeth Prügl (2011, ed.): Debate Section on the ILO Convention -Decent Work for Domestic Workers”, In: International Feminist Journal of Politics, 13, 3. Anner, Mark; Evans, Peter (2004): Building bridges across a double divide: alliances between US and Latin American labour and NGOs. In: Development in Practice, 14, 1, 34-47. Bemerkung Prior registration necessary: hschwenken@uni-kassel.de FB 05 Gesellschaftswissenschaften Uni Kassel SoSe 2013 Labour Policies and Globalisation Prof. Dr. Schwenken Helen