International Commissions and the Power of Ideas

How are good ideas for enhancing global governance converted into policy initiatives and international institutions? One major route has been through international commissions. The names of many are well known: Brandt, Palme, Brundtland, Kosovo, the Commission on Global Governance, and the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. Yet, as an expression of the power of ideas in the search for a better world, they remain under-analyzed. This volume scrutinizes the character, record, style, and substance of a wide variety of international commissions on an individual basis, as well as their overall impact on global policy. This is the first volume that really focuses on the nature and impacts of the international commissions.... This book is a very valuable volume for government and international organization officials as well as academic scholars. --Mark W. Zacher, Centre of International Relations, University of British Columbia Liu Institute [The book] brings new insights into new concepts and ideas as products of changing times and their impact as agencies of change. It therefore makes a useful contribution to the study of global governance in key issue areas. --Tatsuro Kunugi, International Christian University, Tokyo, and former UN assistant secretary general