The Power of Standards
Hybrid Authority and the Globalisation of Services
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Cambridge University Press
Published:11th Jul '19
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
Examines a new form of power in contemporary global political economy, focusing on the hybrid authority of standards in the globalisation of services. This book is also available as Open Access.
Revealing the hidden yet powerful dynamic of international standards in contemporary global political economy, this book will appeal to practitioners active in economic and political affairs, as well as graduate students and scholars across various fields, including political science, sociology, economics, and business and organisational studies. This book is also available as Open Access.Standards often remain unseen, yet they play a fundamental part in the organisation of contemporary capitalism and society at large. What form of power do they epitomise? Why have they become so prominent? Are they set to be as important for the globalisation of services as for manufactured goods? Graz draws on international political economy and cognate fields to present strong theoretical arguments, compelling research and surprising evidence on the role of standards in the global expansion of services, with in-depth studies of their institutional environment and cases including the insurance industry and business process outsourcing in India. The power of standards resembles a form of transnational hybrid authority, in which ambiguity should be seen as a generic attribute, defining not only the status of public and private actors involved in standardisation and regulation, but also the scope of issues concerned and the space in which such authority is recognised when complying to standards. This book is also available as Open Access.
'This volume makes a significant contribution to scholarship on global governance. It traces the 'power of standards' and its connections to 'hybrid authority'. Steering clear of simplifications, the volume emphasizes the generic ambiguity of the standards that define the status of public and private actors, the issues and the spaces of global governance that in turn redefine the standards. The volume does this moving from an overarching analysis of the trade in services, to an analysis of the insurance industry and the outsourcing of business processes to India. Graz offers a refreshingly non-dogmatic, empirically grounded engagement with the questions surrounding who governs, how and with what implications in the contemporary world.' Anna Leander, Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement, Geneva
'Standardisation, originating from the world of engineers and production companies, is now also being applied for services and complex technical and societal systems. Its increasing importance for shaping business and society challenges the role of governments. This book provides better understanding.' Henk J. de Vries, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
'The Power of Standards is a must-read book for all those interested in the functioning of transnational regulation, hybrid authority and present-day spaces of globalization. Drawing empirically on the services industry and on India in particular, Graz provides insightful theoretical reflections on how ambiguity confers authority across sovereign spaces, and thus informs key current debates in international relations and international political economy.' Stefano Ponte, Copenhagen Business School
ISBN: 9781108499866
Dimensions: 235mm x 156mm x 17mm
Weight: 500g
268 pages