Definition & Introduction
A governance framework, within an international affairs context, lays out a set of rules, policies, organizations, and/or processes to inform how states and stakeholders should address local, national, or transnational issues.
Governance frameworks can have varying degrees of scope and can focus on different subject areas. They can direct the development and implementation of technology, like military AI. They can help manage economic initiatives. For example, ahead of introducing the euro, the European Union's Treaty of Maastricht in 1992 set up a system to "coordinate member states’ economic policies and to achieve its economic objectives." They can also govern international security by establishing rules for states to collectively manage conflict, arms control, and peacekeeping operations. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), for example, acts as a governance framework for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal writes that the commitment to international cooperation is a moral proposition. Governance frameworks can play a critical role in unlocking cooperation between states within crucial policy areas. The development, refinement, and implementation of frameworks of these kinds could be a major contributing factor for establishing effective multilateralism.
For more governance framework examples and analysis of their connection to ethics and international affairs, continue reading below.
From Principles to Action: Charting a Path for Military AI Governance
Just Security's Brianna Rosen argues that as the ethical dimensions of war shift in response to the development of artificial intelligence technologies, stakeholders must collaborate on solutions which lead to greater transparency and effective governance.
Intensifying geopolitical competition challenges the development and adoption of shared normative, legal, and governance frameworks. How can the international community translate "responsible AI" principles into action?
Photo credit: UNEP/Natalia Mroz via Flickr
Three Pathways to Nonuse Agreement(s) on Solar Geoengineering
Solar geoengineering technologies present many ecological risks and uncertainties, as well as unresolved questions concerning global governance and justice. Writing for Carnegie Council's Ethics & International Affairs journal, Stacy D. VanDeveer, Frank Biermann, Rakhyun E. Kim, Carol Bardi, and Aarti Gupta offer three illustrative pathways through which a nonuse norm for solar geoengineering could emerge and become diffused and institutionalized in global politics.
Could such a prohibitory governance framework be feasible, especially when considering the opposition it would face from vested interests?
Read more on solar geoengineering governance
Ethics & International Affairs journal
Border wall between California and Mexico.
In Search of a Migration Governance Framework for the Modern Age
Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC) Research Fellow Susie Han argues that the time for a crisis-driven approach to migration has passed. A pragmatic global response is needed—and MIMC is the mechanism to get us there. She emphasizes the depoliticization of migration and a reframing of the issue as a matter of governance rather than crisis.
A Framework for the International Governance of AI
Wendell Wallach and Anja Kaspersen argue for the creation of a global AI observatory tasked with providing the practices, standards, and tools for the comprehensive international governance of AI systems. Outlining five distinct components, they propose a governance framework to achieve an effective structure.
Discussion Questions
- What are the necessary characteristics of an effective governance framework?
- How could the effectiveness of governance frameworks be measured?
- What systems could be put in place to ensure that the development of governance frameworks is fair and equitable?
- Do states have a moral obligation to develop and adhere to governance frameworks?
- Under which conditions, if any, could the guidelines or rules of a governance framework be unenforceable?
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Additional Resources
The IMF and Good Governance
The International Monetary Fund promotes effective governance when providing policy advice, financial support, and technical assistance to its member countries.
ReadThe International Organization for Migration's (IOM) Migration Governance Framework
The IOM's Migration Governance Framework offers the "essential elements for facilitating. . . responsible migration and mobility of people through planned and well-managed migration policies."
ReadBig Frameworks Won't Fix AI's Global Governance Gaps
Writing for Stanford's "International Policy Review," Chan Leem argues for a domain-specific, incremental approach to AI governance.
ReadWhat should an AI Ethics governance framework look like?
Writing for IBM, Jonathan Reed explores why AI governance matters and offers four core roles for an AI governance framework to fill.
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