Alec Stone Sweet Co-Authored article "Reversing delegation? Politicization, de-delegation, and non-majoritarian institutions" achieved the top 10 most-cited papers published in Governance

Congratulations to Alec Stone Sweet whose co-authored the article "Reversing delegation? Politicization, de-delegation, and non-majoritarian institutions", achieved the top 10 most-cited papers published in Governance during the period 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023. Governance provides a forum for the theoretical and empirical study of executive politics, public policy, administration, and the organization of the state. Published in association with International Political Science Association's Research Committee on the Structure & Organization of Government (SOG), it emphasizes peer-reviewed articles that take an international or comparative approach to public policy and administration.

Roda Mushkat on Radical Overall of Hong Kong’s Governance Regime: Likely Implications for Prosperity and Stability (Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law)

"Radical Overall of Hong Kong’s Governance Regime: Likely Implications for Prosperity and Stability"

Roda Mushkat

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law 

Volume 13, Issue 1

Published in 2023

Abstract: Constitutional evolution is normally a steady process, with the prevailing equilibrium seldom punctuated. Sharp reversals periodically occur but they are uncommon, usually confined to low-income and lower middle-income countries. The introduction of a draconian national security law and its heavy-handed enforcement in the affluent Hong Kong capitalist enclave, serving as one of the world economy’s pivotal global metropolises, thus amounts to a historically unprecedented emasculation of a sound and well-thought-out governance architecture. The abrupt unraveling of a semi-democratic infrastructure, pulverizing of key components of a time-honored rule-of-law system, and erosion of international legal personality has been breathtaking and profoundly disconcerting. Yet, the ramifications of this dramatic turn of events have so far been narrowly examined, with the impact on the twin strategic goals of prosperity and socio-political stability largely overlooked. This is an issue that deeply concerns Hong Kong’s many stakeholders, and insights derived from the law-and-economics and law-and-politics literature suggest that the agonizing revamp of the governance regime bodes ill for the territory and, by extension, those engaged with it economically and otherwise.

Alec Stone Sweet et al on Reversing Delegation? Politicization, De-delegation, and Non-majoritarian Institutions (Governance)

"Reversing delegation? Politicization, de-delegation, and non-majoritarian institutions"
Mark Thatcher, Alec Stone Sweet, and Bernardo Rangoni
Governance

Volume 36, Issue 1,
p. 5-22

Published in October 2022
https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12709 

Abstract: Elected governments and states have delegated extensive powers to non-majoritarian institutions (NMIs) such as independent central banks and regulatory agencies, courts, and international trade and investment organizations, which have become central actors in governance. But, far from having resolved the balance between political control and governing competence or removed certain issues from political debate, NMIs have faced challenges to their legitimacy by elected officials and sometimes attempts to reverse delegation through “de-delegation”. Our special issue studies the politicization of NMIs, and then whether, why and how it leads to de-delegation through reducing the formal powers of NMIs or increasing controls over them. In this article, we examine how to analyze de-delegation, how politicization of NMIs has developed, and how it has affected de-delegation. We underline not only institutional rules that constrain elected officials but also the actions of NMIs themselves and their relationships with other NMIs as part of multi-level governance systems. We find that politicization has varied, but even when strong, elected officials have not introduced widespread and long-lasting de-delegation; on the contrary, they have frequently widened the powers of NMIs. Insofar as elected politicians have sought to curb NMIs, they have often preferred to use existing controls and non-compliance. Finally, we consider the wider implications of the combination of politicization and lack of de-delegation for broader issues of governance such as the division of powers between the elected and unelected and democratic accountability.

Marcelo Thompson: CERRE Report on Digital Sovereignty and the Normativity of Data Governance with Recommendations (KE)

Photo credit: CERRE’s LinkedIn page

Knowledge Exchange:
Digital Sovereignty and the Normativity of Data Governance (CERRE Report)

The “Global Governance for the Digital Ecosystems” Report was released at the Paris Peace Forum on November 11, 2022, and presented by the project’s co-leads — the Forum’s President, Pascal Lamy (former Director General of the WTO and Board Member at CERRE), and Bruno Liebhaberg (CERRE’s Director General) — to Emmanuel Macron, the President of France.

Dr Marcelo Thompson co-authored the Report’s recommendations on
Data Governance and authored the paper on Digital Sovereignty —
titled: “Digital Sovereignty and the Normativity of Data Governance”.

In the paper, Marcelo identifies the various ways in which extra-legal (political, moral, cultural) considerations pervade data governance debates and challenge the prospects of harmonisation initiatives. The report points nevertheless to the inevitable and often legitimate role played by such considerations and makes concrete recommendations for navigating these.

Introduction: Harmonisation approaches to data governance suggested in earlier papers of this workstream resonate with recent proposals in the scholarly literature advocating for a global data privacy agreement - either as an agreement anchored in the WTO system, or as an expression of a new Digital Bretton Woods agreement.  These proposals respond to difficulties in reconciling differences between global data privacy regimes, as well as between the more substantive regimes among them, and the principles that inform the international trade system.  They speak of ideals of universality that the networks of technology and trade are taken to reflect, given the equalising potential of such networks, as enablers of "development of human capital" and "democratisation of opportunity throughout the world".  As Plato gestured in "The School of Athens", these proposals point up. 

The whole report can be accessed at: https://cerre.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2022/11/GGDE_FulIReport.pdf

Angela Zhang on How Antitrust Facilitates China’s Goal to Achieve Technological Self-Sufficiency (China Platform Governance)

"How Antitrust Facilitates China’s Goal to Achieve Technological Self-Sufficiency"

Angela Zhang

China Platform Governance 

Published on 27 June 2022

Introduction: This essay is part of The Four Domains of Global Platform Governance, an essay series that examines platform governance from four distinct policy angles: content, data, competition and infrastructure.

     Ant Group’s attempted initial public offering (IPO) in 2020 was to be the biggest in world history. If it had succeeded, 18 Chinese individuals would have become billionaires overnight. Unfortunately for Ant, Chinese regulators put the brakes on the deal just two days before it was to go ahead (Yang and Wei 2020). Ant never became the biggest IPO in Chinese history, while Alibaba (Ant’s affiliated company) would, just a few months later, become the recipient of the biggest fine ever issued by Chinese antitrust authorities. The months leading up to that US$2.8 billion1 fine were characterized by a fierce antitrust campaign aimed at China’s tech giants, all of whom have since faced some level of regulatory scrutiny over their business practices. .... Click here to read the full text. 

Roda Mushkat on China and the Elusive Search for a Viable Governance Regime in the Era of Coronavirus (Eur J of Comp L and Gov)

"From China’s “Political Meritocracy” to “Just Hierarchy”: the Elusive Search for a Viable Post-Democratic Governance Regime in the Era of Coronavirus"
Roda Mushkat
European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance
Published online on 26 May 2021

Abstract: Students of comparative constitutional design grapple with myriad complex normative and empirical issues. Prominent among them is the relative effectiveness of different governance regimes. Concerns stemming from the perceived malfunctioning of modern democracies have intensified efforts to diagnose and rectify the supposedly proliferating ills. The seemingly solid post-1978 Chinese record of steadily managing intricate societal challenges has highlighted the possible advantages of the country’s tightly controlled top-down institutional apparatus and its potential value as a model worth broadly exploring and even embracing on a meaningful scale. This view, authoritatively and vigorously articulated by an influential and prolific political philosopher and his academic associates, has evolved to a point whereby the Chinese constitutional order and contemporary experience are portrayed as being capable of fruitfully supplanting democratic structures or, alternatively, productively revitalising them. Yet, on the whole, this remains a controversial politico-legal proposition, conceptually problematic and lacking sufficient factual support.

New Book: Transparency Challenges Facing China (Palmer, Zhang & Fu)

Transparency Challenges Facing China
Editors: Michael Palmer, Xianchu Zhang, Hualing Fu
Wildy, Simmonds and Hill Publishing
January 2019

Description: The concept of transparency has grown exponentially in importance around the world as a principle of good governance over the past two decades.

     Openness in the manner in which governments, social institutions and business corporations conduct themselves, and their willingness to disclose important information about themselves or about other actors in which they have an interest, are important features of this growth. However, greater commitment to transparency may present difficulties for an authoritarian system’s political leadership.

     Such reform is likely to lead also to demands for political and governance change and similarly radical ideas that foster stability problems for an authoritarian political and legal system, as they enable civil society to scrutinize better the conduct of that authoritarian leadership and its institutions. On the other hand, when transparency is only partial, the government might use it as an instrument of propaganda, shaping public opinion and forestalling structural reform.

     The chapters in this book address the situation in mainland China where economic reform policies and a drive to gain a stronger place in the global economy have encouraged a complex and sometimes ambiguous approach to transparency. The essays explore the manner in which, and the degree to which, greater transparency in governance has emerged in the PRC.

     They also assess the impact of greater transparency in terms of accountability, decision-making processes, and responsiveness in the Chinese governance system. The papers in this volume have their origins in a 2016 conference on transparency issues in China held at the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Law under the guidance of the editors, and bringing together scholars with interests in the emergence of transparency in some of the most important areas of Chinese governance.

New CCPL Survey on Future Directions in Hong Kong’s Governance

Former CCPL Director, Puja Kapai, recently published Future Directions in Hong Kong’s Governance, findings from a public opinion survey conducted between August and September 2017 with a sample of 500 randomly selected respondents aged 18 or above living in Hong Kong. The household surveys were administered through face-to-face interviews. The study sought to understand Hong Kong people’s priorities and life satisfaction levels as well as their attitudes towards and expectations of politics and governance in Hong Kong. Specifically, the survey included items on public trust towards political parties, institutions, the government, and individuals of diverse backgrounds as well as the public’s prioritisation between economic and livelihood issues and democratic governance. In synthesising the data, the study also mapped the correlation between various demographic factors such as gender, age, education, and income levels and attitudes towards politics, governance, priorities, and life satisfaction.

      The project’s underlying objectives are timely and of significance at this juncture in Hong Kong’s political journey. The findings are distinct from other public opinion polls carried out to date in that they are obtained from face-to-face rather than telephone interviews. They also shed light on the underlying variables which appear to be determinative of public opinion on specific challenges facing Hong Kong at this time.

     Offering data-driven recommendations to guide the agenda of political parties, their leaders, and most importantly, the incumbent administration, the project seeks to underscore the importance of creating conditions and prioritising areas that are conducive to the effective engagement and governance of Hong Kong people going forward.

    The findings have been summarised and presented in two segments to distinguish the overall outcomes of the study from the distinct voices of Hong Kong’s youth, who portrayed a significantly different perspective on a range of issues, warranting a separate and focused analysis. Therefore, in addition to the Report presenting the Core Findings of the research, a dedicated report on Youth Perspectives has also been produced, offering a focused review of youth voices in Hong Kong, which are vital to any conversation on the future of governance in Hong Kong given the role of the youth in shaping Hong Kong’s future.

      Between May and June 2018, these Reports and the recommendations therein were presented to Mr Matthew Cheung, Chief Secretary for the Administration of the HKSAR, members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, a range of consular representatives from different countries in Hong Kong, and youth groups. The presentations were conducted in small groups and generated much discussion and reflection on the part of all stakeholders engaged.  The full reports can be accessed here.