Taking responsive regulation transnational: Strategies for international organizations

Abstract

AbstractResponsive Regulation(RR) introduced important new ways of thinking about regulation. ButRRwas designed for domestic settings in which a single agency had clear jurisdiction, full regulatory capacity, and extensive information, and could (contingently) deploy stringent sanctions against well‐defined targets. Under globalization, many regulatory problems have shifted to the transnational arena, characterized by multiple regulators, public and private, with limited capacities, authority, and information, and modest sanctioning ability; globalized production also renders the targets of regulation diffuse and difficult to identify.RRholds important lessons for transnational regulation, but it must be adapted to these challenging conditions. Some components of transnationalRRare already emerging, including numerous private and public–private schemes that regulate business through voluntary norms: “transnational regulatory standard‐setting” (TRSS). Alone, however,TRSSschemes face serious limitations. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are best positioned to “takeRRtransnational” by supporting and working with the nascentTRSSsystem. Two regulatory strategies are particularly promising: collaboration and orchestration. In “regulatory collaboration,”IGOspromote business self‐regulation, much as inRR; they can escalate in response to defection by deploying reputational and market sanctions. In “orchestration,”IGOssupport and steer intermediaries, includingTRSSschemes andNGOs, which use their material and ideational capacities to regulate target behavior. Orchestration cumulates regulatory competencies, creates avenues of escalation, and provides many benefits ofRR“tripartism.”