This book analyzes the politics of global governance by looking at how global policymaking actually works. It provides a comprehensive theoretical and methodological framework which is systematically applied to the study of three global policies drawn from recent UN activities: the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, the institutionalization of the Human Rights Council from 2005 onwards, and the ongoing promotion of the protection of civilians in peace operations. By unpacking the practices and the values that have prevailed in these three cases, the authors demonstrate how global policymaking forms a patchwork pervaded by improvisation and social conflict. They also show how global governance embodies a particular vision of the common good at the expense of alternative perspectives. The book will appeal to students and scholars of global governance, international organizations and global policy studies.

‘In this superb book, the dynamic and fluid character of global policymaking is captured by treating global governance as an ‘unscripted process’ – one that is defined by seemingly undirected and impromptu practices of bricolage. Pouliot and Thérien take the UN as one important site of global policy processes to provide a rich and conceptually sophisticated illustration of their ‘practice approach’ to the analysis of global governance. This approach brings to the fore the inclusionary as well as exclusionary ‘politics’ and value debates behind the ‘patchwork’ of global policymaking.’

Diane Stone - Chair of Global Policy, School of Transnational Governance, EUI

‘This ambitious and innovative book aims to refocus the study of global governance on the process of global policymaking. Far from technical problem-solving, this is a messy, deeply political process, characterized by improvisation, recombination, and ambiguous compromise, and shaped by inescapable value cleavages and governance practices that include or exclude particular actors and interests. The book also offers a valuable ‘how-to’ guide to analyzing governance practices and value conflicts.’

Kenneth W. Abbott - Jack E. Brown Chair in Law Emeritus, Arizona State University

‘Vincent Pouliot and Jean-Philippe Thérien show convincingly that global policymaking can be understood not as functional responses to global problems but as the outcome of struggles about transboundary practices and universal values. Seeing global governance as a bricolage of global policymaking allows a better understanding of the intricate relationship of common goods justifications and power relations. Global Policymaking is one of the most important books on global governance.’

Michael Zürn - Director at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), and Professor, Freie Universität Berlin

‘Global Policymaking is a gem and provides an accurate, ambitious, and yet ultimately modest approach to the study of global governance. While the book draws together current research and provides its own cases, it really invites the readers to study theirs. While offering rich empirical reconstructions, Pouliot and Thérien do a fantastic job in stimulating new thinking. It is on everyone in the community now to live up to their ambition and high standards and provide insights into the practices that shape and define the global world we live in.’

Matthias Hofferberth Source: Global Policy

‘The book looks closely at the operations of the United Nations in sustainable development, human rights, and the protection of civilians in war. Global governance is a story of politics and social conflict, in which the costs and benefits of outcomes are unequally distributed, and values and worldviews stubbornly resist calls for harmony and consensus. Policymakers cannot make the world better if they do not understand how it works.’

G. John Inkenberry Source: Foreign Affairs