Reshaping Global Governance: An Empirical Collaborative Study of Indicators in Action

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Numerical representations and systems of ranking are used to allocate development funds, assess compliance with human rights norms by treaty bodies, evaluate health status and interventions, and impose sanctions for poor performance. As numerical representations of countries and rankings of countries become more prominent in global governance, the question of how such indicators are made and used rises in importance. The PI's will host workshops to bring together a network of scholars who will collectively examine how these indicators are created, how the data is collected and analyzed, and how they impact both decision-making and the general knowledge possessed by a range of global publics. Engaging scholars in different countries to work on global governance indicators provides a comparative perspective on the practice of indictor production and their use. This activity facilitates new theoretical development concerning how such indicators work in action. Indicators of phenomena as diverse as corruption, rule of law, human rights compliance, governance, and transparency are being produced and used in a wide variety of international contexts. Understanding their use is of critical importance to understanding the emerging shape of global governance. Further, the diversity of workshop participants in terms of discipline and nationality promotes international collaboration by a broad range of researchers.