Power, Politics and Contestation in Global Technical Standard-Setting

Introduction

The governance of global technical standard-setting is in the midst of unprecedented transformation and contestation. Long dominated by wealthy industrialized countries, international standardization organizations have been shaken by the emergence of rising standards powers, above all China. Alongside China, several other Global South countries are now breaching the high barriers to entry in this field.

Theoretical Contributions

TECHtonics will contribute two theoretical innovations addressed to both the international standardization literature and scholars of global governance more broadly.

Framework for Standards Power

One aim of the project is the development of a framework to study how and why some developing countries manage to acquire standards power, against the odds.

Concept of Governance Rupture

A second contribution is the introduction of the concept of governance rupture to study the multifaceted forms of contestation unfolding in global technical standard-setting. Since both topics addressed by these frameworks—institutionalized inequality and complex governance challenges—are not unique to technical standard-setting, the findings will advance theory-building on power, politics, and contestation in the global governance literature.

Methodology

The project employs mixed methods to provide empirically rich, granular analyses of rising standards powers and governance ruptures in international standardization.

Work Packages

1. Case Studies: One work package features case studies of rising standards powers at different levels of influence in international standardization—aspiring (Kenya), rising (India), and risen (China).
2. Dynamics of Governance Rupture: A second work package will study the dynamics of governance rupture in global digital standard-setting unfolding across four theatres: power, practice, authority, and bloc formation.

Practical Impact

TECHtonics will directly transfer insights to the practitioners’ world. A practitioner lab and secondments to standardization organizations will be established in order to directly fuse academic insights with practitioners’ needs, ensuring a high degree of research impact beyond academia.