The concluding chapter begins by summarizing the main findings of how politicians balance pressures arising from the economy, national politics, and supranational politics when they design and implement the economic policy of the European Union. With different emphasis, these pressures resurface across time and cut across the entire policy cycle, from the formation of preferences to the negotiations over legislative and executive measures, the timing and direction of reforms, and the patterns of compliance. The chapter then draws some tentative, yet interesting, insights about the effectiveness, fairness, and responsiveness of the policy. The record of effectiveness is mixed. Long-term trends appear reasonably reassuring, but these dynamics hide large cross-country differences, which, rather worryingly, characterize mainly the euro area. There are, however, no glaring indications of unfairness. Concerns about negative externalities have trumped the influence of raw economic power in implementation. Moreover, the policy is not insensitive to changes in public opinion and governmental positions. The chapter concludes by highlighting the usefulness of this theoretical framework.

The second part of the book investigates the implementation of the policy. As far as preventive surveillance is concerned, at its core lay the country-specific recommendations on the macroeconomic policies of the member states. These recommendations are the object of intense negotiations between the Commission and the Council. Why are they a matter of bargaining? What shapes the Council’s propensity to modify the Commission’s proposals and what affects their strengthening or weakening? This chapter employs bargaining and compliance theories to address these questions. Analyzing the recommendations issued between 1999 and 2019, it shows that the Council is rather active in modifying the Commission’s assessments and strengthens four-fifths of the recommending provisions that it decides to modify. Economic and supranational factors dominate this process. Governments balance the pressures originating from the bargaining dynamic within the Council with the need to preserve policy credibility and effectiveness in the face of noncompliance and worsening economic conditions.

The introduction explains the book’s argument that individuals impacted by the repercussions of interstate disputes dealt with by the Court should and can be further integrated into its procedure and considered in its legal reasoning. Through the lens of social idealism, it explains how the Court’s effectiveness and legitimacy may be compromised due to its reluctant approach towards individuals. It also clarifies the method, methodology, scope, and structure of the book.

This chapter concludes the monograph, summarizing the main reflections offered throughout and reflecting on the future of the relationship between the individual and the International Court of Justice.

In the post-World War II era, international lawyers have occupied the front seat in the study of international organisations (IOs). During the past decade, this disciplinary hierarchy has grown to feel increasingly unsatisfying. This chapter offers an anthropological take on the study of IOs building both on the past decade of anthropological work and my ethnography at the UN Human Rights Committee. IOs are frequently accused of ineffectiveness embedded in endless paper-pushing techniques. In this chapter, I engage with these criticisms and ask: can we find another perspective from which to assess effectiveness? What happens if we stop investing our analytical attention in what we think IO operations and their desired ‘impacts’ should be and instead engage in non-normative inquiries into what IOs actually do? I explore what can we learn about IOs’ visions for world improvement by focusing on the legal technicalities and material forms that define their operations. I propose that, instead of a hindrance or distraction, these forms embody ‘standards for a better world’ that are an essential component of IOs’ civilising mission.

This chapter discusses policy implications that flow from comprehensive deterrence theory (CDT). The account points to many implications. Perhaps foremost is the conclusion that there simply is insufficient research to ground deterrence-based policies. There are, though, other equally important implications. The chapter argues that, based on CDT, many deterrence-based policies are likely to be ineffective and may increase rather than decrease crime. At the same time, it is likely that deterrence-based policies can be effective, but only under certain conditions. We extend this reasoning to argue that CDT can be used to inform deterrence-based policies in jails and prisons as well as schools.

Chapter 2 presents the current institutional framework, with a special focus on the exercise of the legislative function. After a brief presentation of the most relevant institutional principles, notably those of effectiveness, institutional balance, and sincere cooperation, the chapter turns to the Parliament, the Council, and the Commission and explains their prerogatives and internal structures in the light of the concept of “executive federalism.” The chapter shows that the legislative institutions of the EU, in line with the principles of autonomy and internal differentiation, allocate important preparatory tasks to different internal bodies (that is, parliamentary committees, Coreper, and GRI) and analyzes the role of those bodies in the adoption of legislation.

International organizations have issued recommendations and prescriptions on constitution-making and reform, especially since 1989. However, such constitution-shaping activities by European and universal organizations, notably the UN, have for the most part not led to a better operation of the rule of law on the ground. Besides these problems of effectiveness, normative concerns against constitutional assistance and advice by international organizations have been raised. It is suggested that, in order to become more legitimate (which might then also improve effectiveness), constitution-shaping by international organizations needs to absorb postcolonial concerns. This includes respect for local rule-of-law cultures flowing from non-European constitutional thought and the inclusion of a much deeper social agenda with a global ambition. Thus revamped, international organizations’ constitution-shaping role could be reinvigorated so as to sustain the rule of law on the domestic level, thereby contributing to transnational ordering and global constitutionalism.

Talent Management: Selecting and Preparing Leaders for Global Assignments examines how organizations select and prepare global leaders for effective assignments. An effective mobility program allows development of global leaders. The chapter identifies the personal characteristics for an international assignee and conditions necessary for an effective international assignment. Family responsibilities as well as a spouse’s/partner’s career and employment issues continue to be reasons candidates turn down assignments. To increase flexibility, multinationals have increased the use of “flexpatriates” in nonstandard international assignments. Effectiveness is the ability to live and work effectively in the cultural setting of an assignment. Effectiveness is a function of Professional expertise, Adaptation, Intercultural interaction, and Situational readiness and is reflected in a formula: E = f (PAIS). The international assignment of female executives has become an important consideration as more women have graduated from business schools and are in line for senior management and international careers. Training should be a function of the degree of cultural exposure that will be experienced. Culture shock, acculturative stress, can be a reason for failure to adapt to the host country. Duty of Care and an organization’s responsibilities to employees are discussed.

In this chapter, we describe the most important policy evaluation criteria that can be used to choose the appropriate mix of energy and climate policy instruments. We give space to economic efficiency, effectiveness, macroeconomic effects, equity, acceptability, enforceability, and administrative practicability. In the second part of the chapter, we present a simple overview of the most important economic models that can be used to estimate the impact of the introduction of energy and climate policy measures, such as applied general equilibrium models and integrated assessment models. Further, we provide a short introduction to some policy evaluation methods such as randomised controlled trials, difference-in-difference, and regression discontinuity designs that can be used to evaluate policy effectiveness.

This chapter advanced the analytical framework of the book, which revolves around the role of the state in governing large-scale decarbonization through collaborative climate governance with interactions of non-state and sub-state actors, networks and multi-stakeholder partnerships in the various governance relations. We provide a coherent framework rooted in theoretical and conceptual debates on the multitude of relations between the state and non-state actors in the governance of climate change. By connecting these governance relations to three evaluative themes of the politics of decarbonization (justice, effectiveness, and legitimacy), we theorize how the state shapes decarbonization processes in a landscape of non-state and sub-state climate action. The chapter situates the book’s contributions to the wider scholarship and highlights the theoretical debates that the empirical chapters will revisit.

Though it is derived from individual thriving, community thriving cannot be reduced to the aggregate of individual experiences. Rather, community thriving is defined as the function of a community’s sustainability and its effectiveness at producing well-being outcomes. An overview of community concepts related to thriving, thus defined, is offered, and the implications of well-being, fairness, and worthiness in a community context are detailed. The chapter concludes with specific historical illustrations and steps readers can take to enhance the thriving of their own communities.