Description:

Please join the International Relations Speaker Series as they host Janne Mende, visitng scholar with the Political Science department at Northwestern University. 

Abstract: Private actors, such as businesses, are increasingly assuming power and legitimacy in global governance settings. This trend has far-reaching implications for human rights, but also climate governance, global health, and other areas of public interest. The traditional distinction in human rights law between public and private actors does not fully capture this shift, as businesses take on both public and private roles, as well as a third type of role that transcends the public/private binary. To better understand these roles and their impact on the protection of human rights (or other public interests), I propose a concept of “business authority” that goes beyond the public/private distinction without merely merging the two. By framing governance authority as comprising power, legitimacy, and a connection to public interests, I introduce a third category—the ‘societal’—to extend the public–private relationship and offer novel perspectives on the multiple forms of governance authority.
 
Janne Mende is a political scientist with a specialization in international human rights and global governance. The awardee of the Franz-Xaver-Kaufmann-Prize 2022 is Senior Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law since 2020. In her Research Group MAGGI (“The Multiplication of Authorities in Global Governance Institutions”) she analyzes the governance authority of state, inter-state and non-state actors in the United Nations and the European Union. In addition, she heads DFG-funded projects in the issue area of business and human rights. Since November 2024, she is elected vice-president of the German Political Science Association (DVPW). 

Please use the Registration link for both in-person and virtual attendance.