Humanity is driving global environmental change to the extent that it is suggested that we have entered a new geological epoch — the Anthropocene. Viewing sustainable development in the light of humanity having such profound impact on the earth system, there is not only a need to re-think the economic playing field, but the regulatory system that governs it. However, existing literature does not provide an in depth account of how regulatory change comes about. The aim of this paper is to contribute to fill this gap by enhancing our understanding of how institutional-actors relations shape changes in European Union (EU) sustainable business and financial market law and regulation. We deploy a polycentric theoretical approach to regulation. This approach enables a better understanding of the ways in which the law changes and comes to encourage or require business to embrace particular values and social norms related to sustainability. We empirically investigate diffusion processes in the context of European multilevel governance (MLG) structures. In adopting a process tracing methodology, we contribute to a better understanding of these actors’ influence on sustainable development. We use a mix-method approach where a social network analysis (SNA) methodology will be combined with qualitative analysis. Specifically, our research method combines (a) 2-mode SNA of actors and legislative instruments[1] with (b) a series of semi-structured interviews in order to capture actor influence over EU policies. Our interviews’ focus on different groups of actors involved in EU-policy making including different kind of international non-governmental organisations, business networks, European-level unions and large multi-national corporations. These interview data will furthermore outline the basis for the process tracing method. The SNA will show how EU legislative instruments and International (and European) business and finance actors and their initiatives are integrated in EU business and financial market law-making process from a MLG perspective. These results will be triangulated through the qualitative methods. The process tracing method will furthermore result in increased understanding of causal relationships between EU legislative instruments and business and finance actors and their initiatives. Hence, this can reveal certain mechanisms and conditions for actors to exert regulatory influence on the topic of sustainable development. These findings will enable us to draw conclusions about possible future emergence of actor influence and some possible pathways for facilitating and governing actor behaviour.
Key words: institutional-actor relations, polycentric regulation, multi-level governance, diffusion of law
Timeline 2018
23-26 April: Interviews in Brussels
May: Transcribing interviews
28 May-10 June: Study trip to University of Exeter (joint analysis with co-author)
12-16 June: ISDRS Conference
July: Incorporate ISDRS feedback and prepare paper for inclusion in PhD midway evaluation submission
August 14: PhD Midway evaluation
August: Incorporate feedback from PhD Midway evaluation related to this paper
November: Finish paper
[1] This analysis will be based on data from previous PhD research by Hanna Ahlström.
9d. Law and sustainability
