The Global Compact: Shifting the Politics of International Development?

Abstract

The UN Global Compact epitomizes the current state of the politics of international development in three distinct ways. First, the Compact illustrates a major turn in development thinking. After decades of hostile relations, the UN and business now acknowledge their common interest in the promotion of sustainable development. Second, the Compact brings light the gradual emergence of more inclusive forms of global governance, in response the failure of traditional mechanisms of development cooperation. Third, ongoing discussions about the Global Compact attest the competing worldviews that structure today's development debate. Overall, the Compact demonstrates that, beyond its ever changing dynamics, international development ultimately remains a political, rather than a technical, process. KEYWORDS: Global Compact, development, United Nations, multilateralism, public-private partnerships. ********** When he introduced the idea of the Global Compact at the 1999 World Economic Forum in Davos, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened a new chapter in the history of the United Nations. Never before had the organization expressed such a willingness join with business in promoting international development. Centered on the ambitious objective of [giving] global markets a more human face, (1) the Global Compact has since become, thanks the direct leadership of the secretary-general, a key instrument in the UN's overall strategy foster a more inclusive and sustainable world economy. The mission of the Global Compact is framed on the basis of two primary objectives. First, the Compact is a corporate citizenship initiative that invites the private sector to embrace, support and enact ... a set of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption. (2) The 2,400 companies that had joined the Global Compact as of the end of 2005 were committed voluntarily applying, within their sphere of influence, ten principles drawn from four major international agreements: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the UN Convention Against Corruption. (3) Participating companies, whether transnationals like Shell, Nike, and Novartis, or small and medium enterprises from the South, are expected report annually on the progress they have made in the implementation of the Compact's principles. Second, the Global Compact constitutes a forum whose aim is facilitate cooperation among the various economic and social actors in the global arena in order promote UN values. Thus, besides the private sector and the UN Secretariat, the Compact involves six UN specialized agencies--ILO, UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)--as well as a number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), labor associations, business associations, think tanks, and government representatives. Because most of the participants belong over fifty national and regional networks, the Global Compact is often referred as a network of networks. (4) Through the action program that it spearheads, the Compact seeks promote dialogue on corporate social responsibility and development and foster new forms of partnership among member stakeholders. To reach these goals, the Global Compact relies above all on its ability bring people together, which it effectively demonstrated in 2004 by organizing the largest meeting of business, labor, and civil society leaders in the history of the United Nations. Rooted in a tradition that stresses the role of multilateral institutions as intellectual actors, (5) this article argues that the Global Compact epitomizes the current state of the politics of international development in three distinct ways. …