Modest Proposal on Power of Discourse in Common Governance

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The term “discourse power” is generally considered to originate from Foucault’s “Discourse is power”. The particularity of the global commons has meant that only a few countries were able to participate substantively in decision-making, which is sometimes in the name of “representing all humanity” So, the moral factor really matters in the mainstream discourse when it comes to problems in the public common. Therefore, it is crucial to coordinate national interests with the interests of all mankind in mind, and also short-term interests with long-term interests in public common. This paper observes a specific negotiation process on environmental protection which is a common issue, and proposes a framework for analyzing the institutional discourse power in common governance for discussion, and attempts to put forward some practical recommendations.

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The term “discourse power” is generally considered to originate from Foucault, and “institutional discourse power” can be understood as the role and influence of a country in international organization operation, international rule making, and maintaining international morality and order. The term "common" originated from the "common land" before the British enclosure movement where resources existed and can be shared. Because the common resources can be obtained through competition, it is easy to cause excessive use and destruction of resources resulted in “common tragedy." Later on, UNEP defined the “global commons” as “resources or regions outside any state jurisdiction ”. At present, international law generally regards the high seas (water and seabed), the atmosphere, the Antarctic and outer space as global commons.


However, the attributes of the global commons led to the fact that only a few countries are able  to participate substantively in decision-making, which is always carried out in the name of “representing all mankind” making moral factor more important in the mainstream discourse on common issues. Therefore, how to balance the interests of the country with the interests of all mankind, and coordinate short-term interests with long-term interests is particularly important in common governance participation. Based on this, The paper observes a specific negotiation process on environmental protection which is a common domain issue, and proposes a framework for analyzing the institutional discourse power in public domain governance for discussion, and attempts to put forward some practical recommendations.


From the negotiation process of the Ross Sea Marine Reserve, this paper draws the following conclusions: 1) China's position in common governance is very important, and any major decision can not be made without China's participation; 2) China still lacks the ability to embody nation interests by using mainstream discourse in specific proposals; this may due to 3) lack of guidance from official macro discourses related to common governance, or partly due to 4) a lack of ability to incorporate technical knowledge and national interests into technical policy advice through identifying and using mainstream discourse. As a latecomer, establishing discourse power of its own should be based on the recognition of the existing mainstream discourse, and then integrating national ideas and interests through technical measures in position statements, following that for a period of time, it will be appropriate to try set the agenda that matters and guide the evolution of the institution.


The full text of this article was published in the second issue of "The Study of Marine Law" Shanghai Jiaotong University.