Informal Instruments Research Articles

Exploring Communities of Practice from an Informality Perspective: Insights from the AU, ECOWAS, and UN in West African Mediation Theaters

Abstract The article explores how and why communities of practice (CoPs) of international organizations (IOs) work together effectively despite the rigid formal bureaucratic and institutional borders they inhabit. The manuscript explains how four informal mechanisms combined to enable CoPs embedded in the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the United Nations (UN) Organization to resolve political crises in Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, and Togo between 2016 and 2022. The informal mechanisms allowed CoPs to overcome their institutional limitations, cross rigid organizational borders, and work together to resolve different political crises in the six countries. Some of the informal mechanisms were cultivated by CoPs, while others emerged organically from activities and interactions of these like-minded professionals. The informal instruments that were developed and used to resolve the crises provide a telling illustration of how CoPs create global governance norms, practices, processes, rules, and structures from below. The enabling role that informality played in the six conflict theaters suggests that paying close attention to the informal dimensions of CoPs has enormous analytical benefits.

Regulatory Capture in a Transitional Democracy: Media Laws in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

This article focuses on a particular aspect of media capture by examining how the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s media regulatory authorities and governmental bureaucracy use both formal and informal instruments and practices at their disposal to regulate press freedom. It reports on the findings of a mixed-methods approach: A qualitative document analysis of media regulations (such as laws, bills, and guidelines) was combined with 20 in-depth semistructured interviews with both state officials involved in media regulatory authorities and journalists, media managers, and editors-in-chief (N = 20). The findings show deliberate shortcomings in the contents of the laws as a result of pressure from the ruling political parties. In addition, they reveal the existence of informal structures and practices to control formal media regulations through patronage relationships and clientelism. We conclude by discussing the implications of these results with regard to the state of the regulatory chaos occurring within an unstable political environment. This includes imprecise laws and the irregular and unpredictable enforcement of media laws that are restricting journalists, to discern the boundary between legal and illegal. As such, the findings provide key insights on the different dimensions of regulatory capture in transitional democracies more broadly.

Overcoming Circular Economy Challenges in Port Areas: An Institutional Perspective

The implementation of circular economy practices is a current and important topic. Despite extensive research on CE barriers in various industries and countries, there is limited discussion on circular economy challenges in port areas. This paper aims at empirically studying circular economy implementation, its associated obstacles, and the levers to overcome them by mobilizing institutional theory. To this end, we studied six cases of companies, located in a port area in France, that have implemented circular economy in their practices. We deployed a qualitative case study methodology. As results, we have identified 41 challenges divided into 5 groups: (1) economic-financial-market, (2) organizational-managerial-cultural, (3) technical-technological, (4) regulatory-governmental, (5) supply chain. The results were then interpreted through the lens of institutional theory. We found that institutional mechanisms - coercive, normative, mimetic, and informal instruments - can be mobilized so as to meet each of the challenges.

The issue of the hybrid regime genesis in Venezuela (1999–2013)

The article gives the author’s interpretation of the genesis of Venezuela political system during the presidency of Hugo Chavez (1999–2013). In the article , when considering the hybrid regime proposed by Guillermo O’Donnell , an attempt was made to analyze the transformation of the political system with the advent of democracy in Venezuela , in which the author highlights the features and democratic or authoritarian aspects inherent in the government from democracy in Venezuela in 1958. The constitutional orders of 1961 and the new Constitution of 1999 constitute the fundamental legal foundations of the entire democratic process that has existed from 1958 to the present , which , obviously , in a historical perspective , points to the trinity of law , power and force , manifested in such historical moments , like overthrowing Perez Jimenez . On the basis of the conducted historical and documentary research , the author of the article concludes that the hybrid regime established by H. Chavez in the first five years of his reign became more and more authoritarian over time . According to the author of the article , the peculiarity of the Chavez administration is that not only legal , regulatory and informal instruments aimed at restricting freedom of expression and assembly , hindering the emergence of democratic pluralism , but also repressive measures .

Investigation of a post-mandate agreement above suspicion: the July 2018 MoU on readmission between Belgium and Tunisia

ABSTRACT In July 2018, Belgium and Tunisia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at dealing with the expulsion of irregular migrants. The MoU would have been unnoticed had it not been stipulated after the Council granted the European Commission the exclusive mandate to negotiate a European Readmission Agreement (EURA) with Tunisia. This article examines the factors that have been conducive to the post-mandate conclusion of the bilateral MoU. Approaching informalization as a systemic and evolving process in European and international relations, this article makes four contributions. First, it questions the assumption that informal deals can be equated with a political act that is unimportant or legally non-binding. Second, the article argues that the July 2018 MoU is symptomatic of unprecedented deviations, at the EU level, that today consolidate the drive for informalization. Third, the analysis shows that the MoU has been, as it were, above suspicion, for its existence has been silently tolerated as a result of broader policy developments that normalize the use of informal instruments, especially in the EU–Africa context. Fourth, beyond the official rhetoric about flexibility and informalization, the case study reveals the limits of international cooperation on readmission.

Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea: An Endeavor to Connect Law of the Sea and International Human Rights Law

The Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea was officially launched on 1 March 2022. The document was produced by the nongovernmental organization Human Rights at Sea, and responds to an undoubted need to prevent human rights violations at sea and to provide redress to victims of such abuses. Connecting the international human rights regime with the law of the sea has been one of many challenges to respond to this issue. This article explores the content of the Geneva Declaration and its alignment with existing law of the sea. Beyond the jurisdictional complexities presented, it is important to consider how this informal instrument holds relevance for international lawmaking. While there are obstacles, the Geneva Declaration creates a needed opportunity to bring attention to and clarity around the legal protections of human rights at sea.

Wie funktioniert Raumplanung? Umsetzung von Instrumenten zur Steuerung der Siedlungsentwicklung in Deutschland und der Schweiz

In Germany and Switzerland, land use and urban sprawl there has been a central topic of public debate for several years. Cantonal structure plans in Switzerland as well as state and regional plans in Germany contain binding regulations for managing settlement development. Studies that examine the implementation of these regulations are lacking. This paper analyses the implementation of selected instruments of supra-local spatial planning for managing settlement development in Germany and Switzerland using the Policy Arrangement Approach. The case study covers the regions Oberland (Bavaria), Südlicher Oberrhein (Baden-Württemberg) and the cantons of Zurich and St. Gallen. The results show that actors implement spatial-planning instruments in situative negotiation processes in which they exploremargins and alternatives. Central to these processes is a regional specific overlapping of (i) interlinkings of formal and informal instruments, (ii) the interplay between local autonomy, supra-local control and superordinate context factors, and (iii) the overlapping of supra-local and regional discourses. The results show that the Policy Arrangement Approach helps to better understand how spatial planning works.

Influence of governance instruments on supply chain quality: a qualitative investigation in the dairy industry

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the formal (i.e. contracts, standards, processes, and structure) and informal (i.e. social structure, norms, information sharing, and value system and culture) governance instruments used in supply networks and their influence on quality.Design/methodology/approachThis research is qualitative-exploratory in nature, involving semi-structured interviews with 20 managers from three essential layers in the dairy industry's supply chain: companies that supply essential inputs to milk producers; milk producers; and milk cooperatives.FindingsAnalysis of the generated data show that formal governance instruments have a strong and/or weak influence on products' and operations' quality in the dairy industry context; informal instruments have a strong and/or weak influence on quality, as a counterpart to formal instruments; and the integration of verified governance instruments positively influences the quality of products and operations.Practical implicationsThis paper offers several managerial and practical implications. The first is to encourage suppliers of primary inputs and milk producers to invest in the formal structure, primarily in formal contracts with each other. The second implication suggests the relevance of creating different training and qualification courses with members from all organizational levels. Third, there is a need for cooperatives, encompassing all industries, to consider several informal instruments, complementary to contracts and standards currently used for processes.Originality/valueGovernance instruments can lead to desired supply chain outcomes, including those related to quality. Although previous supply chain studies have investigated the relationship between governance instruments and the supply chain, and quality management and the supply chain, studies on governance instruments' influence on supply chain quality are limited.

Power Distance, Political Uncertainty, and Stock Price Crash Risk: International Evidence

This study tests the effect of unbalanced power distance (PD) (i.e., Hofstede’s cultural dimensions PD index) and individual stock price crash risk. We examine the stock price behavior of listed firms in 37 countries from 2004 to 2016 and use multivariate analyses to document that societal PD is important in explaining firms’ propensity to release accounting information. This propensity suggests a psychological tendency regarding timing management, particularly for bad news. As countries with large PD prefer to keep things under control, the result is fewer unexpected stock price crashes during the long windows between election events. However, because large-PD countries focus their markets on maintaining temporary peace before and during periods of political events (i.e., national elections), crash risk increases after the political event window. Consistent with these predictions, we find that in large-PD countries, companies generally have less incentive to hide negative information and thus generate stock price crashes. This situation is substantially changed during the postpolitical windows, when firms and ways of spreading information are more controlled by the government. Our findings suggest that formal mechanisms alone are insufficient to explain the behaviors of corporate disclosure that are entangled with informal instruments.

Is the rules-based multilateral trade order in decline? Current practices, trends and their impact

Since its establishment, the World Trade Organization has suffered numerous blows. Today, however, it is going through a perfect storm: from a paralysis in its lawmaking function to the demise of the Appellate Body. Powerful economies such as the United States, China and the European Union are moving away from multilateralism, in different ways, in order to shape novel approaches. Non-transparent practices like informal trade instruments, geoeconomics, and the domestication of international trade rules are appearing as new tools of global economic governance. How to make sense of these practices and approaches from a legal perspective? The common thread in all these factors is the relative decline of the rule of law. This article explores and critically assesses these developments and calls for urgent action in order to remedy and strengthen the multilateral rules-based trade order.

Aleksander Trzaska-Chrząszczewski and the Polish Politics

The article describes life and political ideas of Aleksander Trzaska Chrząszczewski, one of the most distinctive political scientists and conservative thinkers of the interwar period in Poland. The essay contains many – earlier unknown – biographical details and Chrząszczewski’s political, international and historiosophic conceptions. In his essays Chrząszczewski criticised political system based on the democratic constitution from 1921 and political practise of authoritarian regime ruled after 1926 r. He precisely pointed out inconsistency of Pilsudski’s camp, which declared strengthening of the State as an aim of political activity and on the other hand very often ruled by informal instruments. In the international relations’ area Chrząszczewski was a follower of pro-French orientation. He observed evolution of German political system during Nazi regime and warned against rising of political and military power of Third Reich. “Przypływy i odpływy demokracji” (The Tides of Democracy), written in 1939, is still the most recognizable Chrząszczewski’s work. The Author proposed original vision of political changes stimulated by increasing or decreasing activity of masses. Chrząszczewski’s theory is one of the most interesting attempts to analyze social and political events of 1930s, that could be compared with the ones made by Jose Ortega y Gasset or Florian Znaniecki.

Local government in Poland in the light of climate policy challenges

Achievement of climate goals adopted at the EU level requires the widest possible involvement of local government units, in particular cities responsible for a significant part of greenhouse gas emissions. For over a decade, the EC has been taking steps to better manage the scale of the EU member states’ climate efforts at the local level through the use of so-called instruments of soft regulation. These actions, aimed at putting pressure on the governments of the EU member states to mobilize them to take more ambitious actions in the field of climate protection, lead to the creation of new informal instruments supporting implementation of the EU legislation. The article discusses this phenomenon on the example of the Covenant of Mayors operating since 2008.

Trust and Food Quality in the Valorisation of Geographical Indication Initiatives

This text delves into the elements on which the notion of quality of a product is built. We believe that, in addition to the standards that regulate a given quality seal, there are other elements that consumers link to the excellence that distinguishes them. In order to deepen these notions, we have chosen two localised agri-food systems (LAS), the first case corresponds to Iberian acorn-ham from Spain and the second to chorizo from Toluca in Mexico. We resorted to a mixed methodology by combining quantitative and qualitative techniques whereby a study of those food systems in two different socio-political contexts was approached. This methodology has allowed us to identify the importance of informal instruments, based not only on institutionalised certification, but on informal mechanisms such as trust and proximity between producers and consumers. The results of this study show how the food quality categories may be guided from various logics depending on the context, categories, and sort of stakeholders involved. Finally, we propose a categorisation of food quality based on the conceptual framework of trust. This categorisation allows the Geographical Indications (GIs) valorisation initiatives to visualise the elements on which they can be guided to work with the different qualities in their LAS.

As dinâmicas formais/informais e modus operandi da mobilidade da população fronteiriça do sul de Angola

O artigo dedica-se à caracterização da mobilidade populacional na fronteira Sul de Angola (Angola/ Namíbia), nos três períodos históricos em análise – pré-colonial, colonial e pós-colonial. Com ou sem delimitações formais da linha fronteiriça, na região encontramos dinâmicas de mobilidade populacional, sobretudo entre as populações que habitam a zona. As dinâmicas de mobilidade caracterizam-se pela existência de mecanismos informais (dos dois lados da fronteira), a que se acrescentam mecanismos formais, adotados pelos Estados, de controlo dessas dinâmicas.

Informal instruments to impose human rights obligations on foreign investors: An emerging practice of legality?

AbstractIn parallel to the negotiation of international investment agreements to protect foreign investment, intergovernmental organizations have deployed considerable efforts to adopt and implement standards of conduct for business enterprises operating abroad. Despite their informal character under international law, these instruments are increasingly mentioned in international investment agreements and investment arbitration. How can references to informal instruments elaborated by intergovernmental organizations contribute to the imposition of human rights obligations on foreign investors in international investment law? Drawing upon the interactional theory developed by Jutta Brunnée and Stephen J. Toope, this article considers these references as a practice that has the potential to strengthen the normative pull towards compliance with human rights norms. In addition to emphasizing the role of international investment law as a relevant forum to develop a practice surrounding these informal instruments, it assesses whether the use of these instruments by members of a community of practice is intended to establish a genuine sense of obligation and to impose human rights obligations on foreign investors. Even if some instances evidence a practice that strengthens such a sense of obligation, most of the references included in international investment agreements and investment arbitration do not render a practice of legality.

Cyrillic in the Fashion Industry as a New Tool of the Russian Policy of “Soft Power”

The article is devoted to the study of the potential of informal instruments of “soft power” in modern Russia. It examines such concepts as instruments of “soft power”, identity, culture and cultural codes, fashion, foreign policy influence. Today, the key objectives of Russian policy are to create and strengthen the national identity and expand the spheres of “soft” foreign policy influence, the formation of loyalty and sympathy of the world community to Russia. The active presence of Russian cultural codes in the world of contemporary art, fashion and other areas of culture opens up new opportunities for the development of the Russian policy of “soft power”. The article discusses the prospects of Russian foreign policy influence and the formation of Russian identity through mass culture and fashion on the example of the origin of the Cyrillic trend in the world fashion industry today, as well as the potential impact of informal instruments of “soft power”.

Informalization of EU Bilateral Instruments: Categorization, Contestation, and Challenges

Abstract The EU and its Member States both contribute to the informalization of international relations’ tools by concluding bilateral soft law instruments which prepare, implement, and especially replace international agreements. This contribution analyses the EU practice of applying international soft law and focuses on the institutional challenges deriving from external relations’ soft law instruments. It has the three-fold aim of explaining why the informalization or ‘softification’ of EU bilateral instruments has proliferated, categorizing them according to their function and purpose in international law and EU external relations law and finally assessing the legal implications in EU law resulting from their application. The paper will argue that while, in practice, differences between international treaty law and bilateral soft law disappear, more legal challenges arise in the EU system through bilateral soft law measures than international agreements. This is caused by the rules on EU external representation, dispersed among supranational and intergovernmental EU actors and characterized by their general wording. International soft law tools operate in a politically contested area with several actors and a variety of informal instruments. The flexibility and hybrid character of soft law form an advantage for the institutions at the expense of the rule of law, legal certainty, and legal review.

High enthusiasm about long lasting mentoring relationships and older mentors

BackgroundMentoring plays a pivotal role in workplace-based learning, especially in the medical realm. Organising a formal mentoring programme can be labor and time intensive and generally impractical in resource constrained medical schools with limited numbers of mentors. Hence, informal mentoring offers a valuable alternative, but will be more likely to be effective when mentors and protégés share similar views. It is therefore important to gain more insight into factors influencing perceptions of informal mentoring. This study aims to explore mentors and protégés’ perceptions of informal mentoring and how these vary (or not) with gender, age and the duration of the relationship.MethodWe administered an Informal Mentor Role Instrument (IMRI) to medical practitioners and academics from Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was developed for the study from other validated instruments. It contained 39 items grouped into 7 domains: acceptance, counselling, friendship, parenting, psychological support, role modelling and sociability.ResultsA total of 103 mentors and 91 protégés completed the IMRI. Mentors had a better appreciation for the interpersonal aspects of informal mentoring than protégés, especially regarding acceptance, counselling and friendship. Moreover, being older and engaged in a longer mentoring relationship contributed to more positive perceptions of interpersonal aspects of mentoring, regardless of one’s role (mentor or protégé).ConclusionIt can be concluded that the expectations of mentors and protégés differed regarding the content and aim of the interpersonal characteristics of their mentoring relationship. We recommend mentors and protégés to more explicitly exchange their expectations of the informal mentoring relationship, as typically practiced in formal mentoring. Additionally, in our study, seniority and lasting relationships seem crucial for good informal mentoring. It appears beneficial to foster lasting informal mentoring relationships and to give more guidance to younger mentors.

Coping with climate change related conflicts – The first framework to identify and tackle these emerging topics

Climate change is supposed to exacerbate conflicts arising from resource scarcity and contrasting objectives. Some European authors highlighted already the need to look at conflicting interests when elaborating and applying adaptation and mitigation strategies. This study analysed the level of consideration of these emerging topics arising through increased competition of resources, contrasting interests, climate change adaptation as well as mitigation measures for Austria and Southern Germany in detail. Furthermore, it surveyed the application of possible approaches for conflict prevention and mitigation in an international perspective and additionally examined the particular role of SEA as one of the instruments to cope with conflicts related to climate change. The results express the strong need to look at emerging conflicts in cross-sectoral and sectoral adaptation early enough and a strategic perspective. Based on the content analysis of the Austrian and German adaptation and mitigation documents, expert interviews as well as the international literature review, a rather low consideration of these emerging topics as well as approaches to cope with them became evident. In response to these deficiencies, the paper introduces a first framework to identify and tackle emerging and exacerbated conflicts related to climate change. This novel framework is internationally applicable. In the final step of the framework approaches to prevent and minimize conflicts are the key topic. Among these approaches, SEA could take a leading role in case mandatory planning instruments cover the topics related to potential or existing exacerbated fields of conflicts. Overall a mix of formal and informal instruments and a more cross-sectoral perspective seems necessary. To this aim, the paper introduces four main guiding principles to consider and minimize up-coming conflicting topics.

Paving the way for the circular economy and more sustainable supply chains

PurposeCircular economy is an emerging concept which requires insights from a variety of disciplines, especially from sustainable operations management. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to verify how formal and informal instruments of governance influence the induction of green practices in a green network located in Brazil, with implications for the circular economy.Design/methodology/approachBased on a review of the supply chain (SC), green supply chain management, and governance literature, proposals are made regarding the influence of governance instruments in inducing green practices. To investigate these propositions, a qualitative research was conducted using a single exemplary case study of a cosmetics supply network.FindingsThe authors present original research findings which have both expected and unexpected implications for the circular economy, due to the fact that the data analysis showed that the formal (contracts and environmental norms) and informal (trust and cooperation) instruments of governance positively influence the induction of green practices within the supply network.Originality/valueThis study contributes to supply network and governance theory by providing insights for better understanding of how governance instruments can induce green practices in a supply network, and it provides practical implications for SC managers, by showing the importance of considering different governance instruments. Implications for the circular economy are made.