Resourcing for Inclusion in Transnational Governance: the Work of Indigenous Peoples in the Nagoya Protocol
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Resourcing for inclusion in transnational governance: the work of indigenous peoples in the Nagoya Protocol Natalia Aguilar Delgado Desautels Faculty of Management McGill University A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Advisory Committee Supervisor: Prof. Paola Perez-Aleman, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University Member: Prof. Yuan Li, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University Member: Prof. Linda Rouleau, Department of Management, HEC Montreal December 2016 Abstract Existing research points to a proliferation of new global institutions that regulate, guide and monitor social interactions and activities across national territories in recent years. This phenomenon is accompanied by the efforts of non-state actors to influence these global regulations. Little is known about what the affected communities do to become active participants in global governance despite limited access to resources to engage in these processes. How do marginalized actors work for their inclusion in the process of creating a new global institution? This thesis presents a novel understanding of how vulnerable and under-resourced actors become more included in creating institutions that are consequential for them. The research context is the construction of a new global regulation in the United Nations, the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing for bioprospecting, that is, the exploration of biodiversity for commercially valuable genetic and biochemical resources. This study focuses on the work of indigenous peoples, non- state actors historically excluded from policy-making and in a disadvantaged position for shaping this new institution that affects the access to their traditional knowledge. The research builds on a multi-event ethnography using as units of analysis the intergovernmental meetings taking place from 2011 to 2014, based on various data sources: participant observation, documentation, and interviews. The results point to the emergence of the mechanism “resourcing work”, or the recursive process through which interactions and relationships enable the creation of resources and affect the actors’ positions in different negotiation spaces where institutions are created. The mechanism includes three different types of resourcing: organizational, discursive, and material. Based on the findings, I elaborate a model for inclusion in institutional creation that captures the continuous interplay among “negotiation spaces”, “positions”, and “resourcing work” as events evolve over time. This research contributes to the transnational governance literature by illuminating the practices of non-state actors in creating resources that affect changes in positions, rules and understandings, affecting their participation and inclusion. Furthermore, it advances the literature on institutional work by demonstrating a key mechanism for increased agency in institutional creation processes, improving understanding of the antecedents of institutional work. In addition, the findings expand the literature on resourcing, by accounting for power differentials and the role of context, and developing a typology of the practices involved in creating the varied resources required for inclusive governance. Résumé La recherche existante suggère la prolifération de nouvelles formes d’institutions globales qui régulent, orientent et surveillent les interactions et les activités sociales à travers différents territoires nationaux dans les dernières années. Ce phénomène est accompagné des efforts des acteurs ‘non étatique’ pour influencer dans ces régulations globales. Par contre, on sait peu sur ce que les communautés affectées par ces régulations font pour devenir de participants actifs dans le processus de gouvernance globale, même ayant accès à des ressources limitées. Comment des acteurs marginalisés travaillent pour leur inclusion dans le processus de création de nouvelles institutions globales ? Cette thèse présente une nouvelle compréhension de comment des acteurs vulnérables et sous- ressourcés agissent pour être inclus dans la création des institutions qui auront un impact sur leur vie quotidienne. La recherche a été faite dans le contexte de la construction d’une nouvelle régulation globale dans les Nations Unies, le Protocole de Nagoya qui se base sur l’accès et le partage de bénéfices pour la ‘bioprospection’, c’est-à-dire, l’exploration de la biodiversité pour l’obtention des ressources génétiques et biochimiques qui possèdent de la valeur commerciale. L’étude se base sur le travail de peuples autochtones, des acteurs non étatiques qui ont été historiquement exclut de la définition des politiques publiques et qui sont normalement dans une position désavantagée pour influencer les nouvelles institutions qui affectent l’accès à leur connaissance traditionnel. La recherche se base sur une ethnographie de type multi évent et utilise comme unité d’analyse les réunions intergouvernementales qui ont été réalisées entre 2011 et 2014, en utilisant multiples sources de données : observation participante, documentation, et entrevues. Les résultats indiquent l’émergence du mécanisme de ‘resourcing work’, c’est- à-dire, le processus récursif à travers lequel les interactions et les relations permettent la création de ressources qui affectent les positions des acteurs dans différents espaces de négociations dans lesquels les institutions sont créées. Le mécanisme inclut trois différents types de ‘resourcing’ : organisationnelle, discursive, et matériel. Par conséquent, on a élaboré un modèle qui explique l’inclusion dans la création des institutions. Ce modèle reflète la constante interaction entre ‘des espaces de négociations’, ‘les positions’, et ‘le resourcing work’ au fur et à mesure que les événements évoluent à travers le temps. Cette recherche contribue pour la littérature en gouvernance transnationale en démontrant les practices des acteurs non étatiques dans la création de ressources qui affectent les changements de positions, de règles et de compréhensions, ce qui impacte leur participation et inclusion. En plus, l’étude contribue pour la littérature en travail institutionnel par la démonstration d’un mécanisme clé pour l’augmentation de l’agence dans le processus de création des institutions, ce qui améliore la compréhension des antécédents du travail institutionnel. Finalement, les résultats font avancer la littérature en ‘resourcing’, en considérant les différences de pouvoir et le rôle du contexte, ainsi qu’en développant une typologie des pratiques associées à la création de différents types de ressources demandés pour une gouvernance inclusive. Acknowledgements Since I began this PhD journey, I have contemplated the day I would be writing the acknowledgements for my thesis. Whose names would appear here? How would I be feeling? Well, this day has finally arrived and with it, a strong anxiety caused by the fear of being unable to express the immense gratitude I feel for all of those who have, in one way or another, contributed to the completion of this ride to the unknown that began about 6 years ago. I guess I am one of the few people who loves to read acknowledgments. In fact, for every book and dissertation I read, I always began with the acknowledgement section, due to the belief that it gives a glimpse into the life of the writer, and a sense of the vast array of people involved in producing this type of intellectual effort even when there is just a single official author. My research addresses the efforts made by marginalized actors to achieve inclusion. I was lucky enough to have found people who opened the doors that enabled me to study this very important phenomenon. Primarily, I acknowledge the generosity and enthusiasm of the group of actors I studied, the members of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity. Through the years, they have taught me much more than I could have learned from books. Thank you for the trust in allowing me to experience the hardships of becoming a negotiator with few resources in such a hostile environment. I also thank the Secretariat and its staff, for always having trust that the access I was given to the backstage of meetings would be used wisely. I would also like to express my profound gratitude to Professor Paola Perez- Aleman. Since our first meeting, she has been very supportive and open-minded to some non-traditional ideas I had for my research. Once again, I was fortunate to have crossed paths with her as I was able to learn so many things through her compassionate and understanding guidance. Thank you so much for the material and intellectual support provided over so many years. I extend this thanks to the McGill and the joint PhD program communities. Special thank you go to professors Yuan Li and Linda Rouleau for being members of my thesis committee. You contributed so much with our stimulating discussions and I’m really thankful for all your patience and instrumental assistance. Through the years I also had, the opportunity to make incredible and loyal friends, Hyehyeon Gong, Diego Mastroianni, Isla Milne, and Nollywe Delanon, and to cross paths with so many other colleagues with whom I had the chance to share theories, fears, joys, doubts, concerns and achievements. Thank you for helping me to find time to laugh through some challenging moments! I also thank Stella Scalia, Grace Pawelec and Suzanne Selitto for the professionalism and kindness with which they have treated me throughout