Project overview - Henrike Jost

Research Question:

How do interest groups within advocacy coalitions balance individual interests with the need for collective action and coordination to achieve policy change in the context of human rights and environmental due diligence laws at the EU level?

Why does this research matter?

I am interested in examining the various advocacy coalitions that have sought to shape this legislation according to their interests and analyzing the strategies they employed to exert influence throughout the legislative process.

Particularly, I plan to explore the durability and stability of these coalitions, delving into the dynamics of collaboration among diverse stakeholders. I aim to understand the specific conditions and circumstances under which these coalitions successfully unite their efforts, as well as how they manage to navigate competition for limited resources and mitigate internal conflicts.

By illuminating these complex interactions, the goal is to enhance the understanding of advocacy coalition dynamics, providing valuable insights for coalition members and policy-makers. Coalition members may benefit from this better understanding by using it to inform their strategies, helping them discern the factors that contribute to the success or failure of their initiatives in influencing policy outcomes. Policymakers may use the results to come up with consensus-building strategies. Generally, the research adds to a well-applied theory and generates new knowledge on human rights due diligence laws.

Key Objectives

Paper 1

Highlighting mechanisms & contextual factors explaining varying effectiveness of mHREDD laws across different implementation contexts

Paper 2

Examining conditions influencing interest groups’ decision to join mHREDD law advocacy coalitions and how roles/responsibilities are distributed

Paper 3

Identifying factors explaining stability of mHREDD laws advocacy coalitions in contested multi-actor governance settings

Paper 4

Explaining conditions under which Global South actors gain influence in mHREDD law advocacy coalitions and how power and resource asymmetries are negotiated/transformed