Diplomatic negotiation in an international organisation: an exploration of expert status and power
This paper will explore the status and characteristics of ‘expert’ membership within an international organisation and its influence on the development of ‘exosomatic resources’. Invoking the framework of the ‘Community of Practice’ (Wenger, 1998), it is argued that status and power are realised in the development and interpretation of policy and conventions within the organisation, through the ‘negotiation of meaning’ and through the ‘politics of participation and reification’. Negotiations and decisions may take place over a period of time but are also situated within plenary debates. As such it is argued that power and hierarchy are not fixed structures but are emergent and fluid discursively over time and space. The paper defines the characteristics of ‘expert’ membership encompassing a consideration of the command of participatory and interactional norms, as well as knowledge of the status and content of reified products. To illustrate these characteristics a critical analysis of the discourse of one delegate is provided. This exemplifies how expert knowledge is applied within a debate to influence and inform the development and interpretation of texts and subsequently to contribute to the (re)production of shared meaning and agreement on issues under debate. It is argued that in considering both the forms of asymmetry in organisations and the practice of decision-making, research should focus on: the type of knowledge that is required and valued in any context; how this knowledge is accessed, enacted and exploited; and which members are instrumental in its construction, representation and reproduction.
Geostrategies of Interlingualism: Language Policy and Practice in the International Maritime Organisation, London, UK
Fettes (2004) asserts that ‘politico-strategies’ of languages are no longer viable frameworks for ‘national and community policy’. Rather, he proposes the development of ‘geostrategies of interlingualism’, i.e. linguistic strategies which promote international communication equitably and efficiently, whilst respecting and ensuring language maintenance and pluralism. He asserts that the future development of interlingual communication will depend upon chosen communicative device(s). To date research has focused on ‘the advocates, developers and practitioners of each approach’ (p. 38) independently rather than on the influence of these instruments in combination on communities of speakers at micro and meso-levels. Supranational organisations serve as important sites of investigation for language planners interested in studying multi-functional/lingual communication. One such organisation is the ‘International Maritime Organisation’, established in 1958 to facilitate cooperation among governments in matters of international shipping. Currently 165 countries (and three associates) constitute its membership. There are six official and three working languages. This paper discusses the nature of interlingualism at IMO, investigating whether the instruments in place ensure equitable and efficient communication. Multilingual practices are guaranteed at the highest levels of political representation but at lower levels English functions as the main tool of communication. Comparisons are made with other supranational organisations.
The power of negativity : selected writings on the dialectic in Hegel and Marx
Part 1 The Philosophic Moment of Marxist-Humanism Part 2 Studies in Hegalian and Marxian Dialectics, 1956-63 Part 3 Theory and Practice at a Turning Point, 1964-71 Part 4 After Philosophy and Revolution: Hegel's Absolutes and Marx's Humanism, 1972-81 Part 5 The Changed World and the Need for Philosophic New Beginnings, 1982-87