Dr. Poem Mudyawabikwa Graduates The Doctor of Literature Program

The international system exhibits complex and entangled characteristics that compete not only to define, describe and interpret the multilateral negotiations but also to influence them. This phenomenon is perceptible in the United Nations’ (UN) organs and specialised agencies and elsewhere in the multilateral environment. The characteristics range from the multiple actors, inter-actor relationships, power relations, behavioral traits to multi-structures, governance, the engagement modalities and decision-making mechanisms. It is against this backdrop that the present research explored the characteristics of a new conceptual model which better describes and interprets the negotiations that take place in the Governing Body (GB) of the International Labour Office.

The research traces the negotiating model adopted at the formation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 1919 which placed the workers’ and employers’ groups on equal footing with governments. The tripartite nature of the ILO makes it a unique agency within the UN family. The model under exploration evolved over the years partly responding to the development in the broader multilateralism. This is the case, as the ILO and the League of Nations are milestones in multilateralism having been established by the same international conference. The configuration of the government constituent of the Governing Body (GB) of ILO exhibits power imbalance and governance deficits while the verity of the single voice each of the workers’ and employers’ constituents is questionable. The GB itself, is constituted by complex multi-layers of negotiating units.

A triangulated research methodology, constituted by literature review, content analysis and interviews was used to gather data. The literature reviewed, relates to; international relations, negotiations and social justice domains. The content analysed pertains to ILO key instruments on governance and social justice as well as other relevant documents of the ILO GB. Open-ended interviews were conducted with the sampled GB members drawn from the three constituents of the ILO. The interview questions focused on the key elements of the ILO GB negotiations; i.e., the actors, structures within the GB, the engagement processes, consultations, decision making and behavioral traits of the GB members. Out of the 50 targeted GB members and officials of the constituents’ secretariats, 34 participated in the initial interviews conducted face- to -face and online. This represents a 68% response rate.

The main research findings are that the multiple actors and multi-layers of the negotiating units influence the negotiation patterns and that the ILO GB negotiating model exhibits governance deficits and social justice barriers. The following are among the identified characteristics of the new conceptual model that better describes and interprets the ILO GB negotiations; (i) increased actors in the government group, (ii) compatibility between political and official classification of the GB agenda items, (iii) existence of logically sequenced in-session engagement process flows (iv) invigorated efforts to address the governance deficits and ultimately remove the social justice barriers. This is the first conceptual model which contributes new knowledge to the understanding of the evolving structures, intricacies, interactions and power relations among the multiple actors in the international system.