Led by Language, Constrained Through Consensus, Determined by Delegations

Studies in diplomacy and international relations, pp. 147–163

Abstract

This chapter discusses Knowledge Utilization from the perspective of Knowledge Management (KM) and operationalizes the final stage of the KM model applied to the UN First Committee cyber negotiations case study. By doing so, it identifies the activities through which inputs contributed to these negotiations have been applied to create their resulting outputs. These activities include the synthesis of contributed inputs into draft text and its subsequent iterative redrafting and editing. The final products indicative of Knowledge Utilization include the final consensus reports of the GGEs and the OEWGs as well as the Annual Progress Reports of the second OEWG. In examining these practices, it is found that language has been the ultimate tool of utilization. However, in utilizing language to craft international agreement, Knowledge Utilization has been characterized by constraint, engendered through the principle of consensus. Moreover, the contents of these documents have been determined exclusively by Member States.

Authors 1

1. Lise H. Andersen corresponding Aachen Institute of Security and Global Affairs

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University, The Hague, The Netherlands