Description
Abstract: How can reformist states from the Global South, conventionally characterised as “weak,” succeed in institutionalising their preferences at the international level? Specifically, how can they succeed in embedding their championed policy norms within the policy frameworks of international organisations (IOs), in the context of challenging institutional environments and against the resistance of more powerful states supportive of the status quo? By focusing on the issue-area of culture and its preservation, which is not only a socially and economically salient issue for many states of the Global South, but is also subject to North-South tensions in terms of contrasting interests and worldviews, this research seeks to contribute to the emerging wave of scholarship on the agency of states from the Global South in shaping international policy. In doing so, it hopes to contribute to the literature by identifying the conditions and type(s) of influence exercised by these states in light of the important structural constraints which they face in the pursuit of their goals in international fora, and more generally to transcend the Western-centric approach which has historically characterised the IR discipline. This research is based on a qualitative case study analysis using process tracing: The two main cases are the World Bank’s commitment to the new policy area of cultural heritage, and the WIPO’s involvement in the protection of traditional cultural expressions and knowledge through an intellectual property lens.
Key Words: International Organisations, Global South, Contestation, Agency, Policy Change, North-South Relations, Global IR
