Knowledge Management in Multilateral Diplomacy

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Frontmatter

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2. Chapter 1. Introduction: Managing Multilateral Knowledge

   • Open Access

   Lise H. Andersen

   Abstract

   This introductory chapter situates the study, highlighting the relevance and importance of considering the concept and practice of knowledge management (KM) in the professional setting of multilateral negotiation processes at the United Nations (UN). Focusing on the UN First Committee cyber negotiations as its case study, the objectives of the book are outlined, including (1) identifying any practices within these negotiations that can be conceptualized as acts of KM; and thus (2) characterizing the approach taken to KM within them; as well as (3) analysing how these practices have evolved as the negotiations have developed. The chapter introduces the reader to the practical and scholarly context of KM and presents the theoretical framework and methodology specifically designed for undertaking this study. An overview of the contribution and structure of the book concludes this introductory chapter.

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3. Chapter 2. The UN First Committee Cyber Negotiations

   • Open Access

   Lise H. Andersen

   Abstract

   This chapter provides an overview of the case study in focus, namely the UN First Committee cyber negotiations on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security. In doing so, it concisely discusses the origin, structure, key historical developments, as well as the actors involved with this negotiation process from their inception in 1998 up until the conclusion of the second Open-Ended Working Group in 2025 (the period under study). This is then followed by an examination of the negotiations’ knowledge base, which is found to have an active as well as an institutional dimension and be both tacit and explicit in nature. In determining the type, diversity and location of inputs composing the knowledge base, this examination sets the study up for identifying any practices that can be conceptualized as acts of Knowledge Management within these negotiations.

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4. Chapter 3. Developing a Diplomatic Baseline

   • Open Access

   Lise H. Andersen

   Abstract

   This chapter begins by discussing what Knowledge Building entails from a Knowledge Management (KM) perspective. In operationalizing stage one of the KM model applied in this book, it thereafter identifies practices that can be conceptualized as Knowledge Building activities in the UN First Committee cyber negotiations. Overall, the chapter reveals that a permanent, formal and dedicated mechanism designed to create or foster the injection of input into the discussions has not been embedded into the architecture of this process. Rather, it is shown that Knowledge Building has occurred through the engagement of negotiation participants via a range of interpersonal activities, as well as through their personal consultation of material resources. These activities have been undertaken in both formal and informal spaces and have been dependent upon the initiative of negotiation participants themselves. Moreover, the identified practices are found to have occurred on an iterative as well as relatively structured and consistent basis.

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5. Chapter 4. Material Trust: Validating Knowledge the Diplomatic Way

   • Open Access

   Lise H. Andersen

   Abstract

   This chapter starts by outlining how Knowledge Validation is understood in the Knowledge Management (KM) literature. Through the operationalization of stage two of the KM model applied in this book, the chapter then goes on to investigate how Knowledge Validation has taken expression in the UN First Committee cyber negotiations. In other words, this chapter examines how input provided to these negotiations has gained acceptance or come to be considered legitimate amongst negotiating diplomats. Considering this, the chapter finds that while there is no formal mechanism in place for validating contributed input, Knowledge Validation does, however, occur through three means. These means include validation by association or by proxy, validation by personal expertise, as well as validation through political acceptance.

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6. Chapter 5. Silently Safeguarding: The Veteran Privilege

   • Open Access

   Lise H. Andersen

   Abstract

   This chapter initially explores Knowledge Holding as understood in Knowledge Management (KM) scholarship. It then examines how inputs made to the negotiation process have been safeguarded, operationalizing stage three of the KM model applied. In doing so, it is found that inputs associated with the discussions have been captured through the written word in documents and by way of audio-visual recordings—both of which have been digitally stored online via several platforms. Knowledge associated with the negotiations was also found to have been safeguarded by process veterans and non-State actors. Overall, the identified practices highlight that Knowledge Holding in these negotiations has occurred inadvertently through tacit means as well as intentionally through explicit means. These practices have been dispersed, and a high degree of knowledge loss has characterized the process, enhancing knowledge asymmetries between negotiating States.

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7. Chapter 6. An Ecosystem of Knowledge

   • Open Access

   Lise H. Andersen

   Abstract

   This chapter starts by discussing the attributes of Knowledge Mobilization, whereafter the UN First Committee cyber negotiations are examined to understand the transfer and movement of knowledge within and surrounding them, including its sources and directionality. The chapter underscores that input contributed to these negotiations has been mobilized by way of individual initiative consulting material resources, as well as via an ecosystem of person-to-person interactions among a constellation of actors, spanning the formal and informal spaces related to the negotiations. The movement of knowledge is thus found to have been uni-, bi- and multidirectional in nature. Moreover, the flourishing of this ecosystem has been dependent upon individual as well as collective efforts, and, in some cases, has been both hindered and helped by non-mobilization practices.

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8. Chapter 7. Led by Language, Constrained Through Consensus, Determined by Delegations

   • Open Access

   Lise H. Andersen

   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.

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9. Chapter 8. Paradigm Proficiency? Procedural Progress?

   • Open Access

   Lise H. Andersen

   Abstract

   Considering the findings of the preceding five chapters, this chapter characterizes the approach found to have been taken to Knowledge Management (KM) overall within the UN First Committee cyber negotiations. In doing so, it is revealed that the identified KM practices have been implicit, dispersed, unsystematic as well as messy in nature. Further, these practices were revealed to have developed organically through the set-up, format and design of the GGEs and OEWGs, evolving over time. This evolution is discussed, highlighting the increased tendency towards more substantial and systematic (though still implicit) KM, as the negotiations have matured through the OEWG format. In presenting this broader characterization and evolution of the KM approach taken in the case study, the advantages and disadvantages associated with taking a formalized versus informal approach to KM are considered in relation to the future development of the negotiations as they are institutionalized through the new global permanent mechanism.

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10. Chapter 9. United Minds: The UN as Knowledge Manager?

    • Open Access

    Lise H. Andersen

    Abstract

    This concluding chapter considers the benefits as well as limitations of formal and informal Knowledge Management (KM) practices vis-à-vis the multilateral diplomatic context. In doing so, it offers reflections on the potential of the United Nations (UN) as a more intentional knowledge manager, both in relation to the UN First Committee cyber negotiations as well as more broadly in respect of other multilateral negotiations hosted under its auspices. The extent to which the findings of this study are generalizable to other multilateral settings are then discussed. This chapter thereafter brings the book to a close by providing several directions for taking research in this area forward and highlighting the vital importance of infusing a culture of KM into the UN multilateral setting.

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11. Backmatter

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