Abstract

An extraordinary range of global norms are created today by actors and through processes that no longer fit easily within traditional international law. Although states remain the primary drivers of global legislative action, many other participants including international organizations, courts, as well as influential advocacy entities, such as non-governmental organizations, and even individuals, are also crucial to the development global norms today. One of the problems in contemporary international law is the disconnect between the way global norms are actually shaped with the participation of these various actors, on the one hand, and the extensive theoretical focus on states and their effect on the classic international law sources, on the other. While scholars are not blind to this gap, there is, of yet, no formal model integrating these actors into existing frameworks that are theoretically and legally structured only for states. The goal of this talk is to provide such a framework of analysis and to introduce a set of tools that will improve our understanding of contemporary global legislative action. First, I advocate for a shift in how we conceive of the world in which contemporary global legislative action takes place. This conceptual shift entails a view of the international system as a web of multiple actors and networks instead of one in which states are the main relevant actors. In this world, the development of international norms is not limited to the boundaries of sovereign power but depends upon the connection, density, and intensity of ties across these boundaries, and among actors. Second, I introduce the quantitative methods of Network Theory to provide quantifiable descriptive and prescriptive findings, premised on links, relationships, and connections among actors, which will improve our understanding of contemporary global legislative action. This will allow us to quantify and map actors’ and networks’ contributions to international legislative processes, interpret the elusive global realities that lead to the making of global norms, and tailor solutions to international problems so that future international legislative action can be more effective.