Understanding International Organizations’ Headquarters as Ecosystems: The Case of Geneva
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| Author | Emilie Dairon,Fanny Badache |
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12956 |
Understanding International Organizations’
Headquarters as Ecosystems: The Case of
Geneva
Emilie Dairon
Sciences Po Lyon
Fanny Badache
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Abstract
The objective of this article is to explore the spatial and temporal dynamics of an important but often neglected space of glo-
bal governance: the cities in which the headquarters of international organizations (IOs) are located. For this purpose, this arti-
cle proposes a conceptualization and an empirical application of the concept of ‘ecosystem’. This conceptualization builds on
classic sociological ideas and organization theory to develop an innovative understanding of these cities which are more than
mere hubs. We use this metaphor to describe an HQ city where one or several IOs have their seats. As a result, it is a space
characterized by specific geographical and temporal features that can be qualified as spatial and temporal proximity between
the elements composing the ecosystem. Based on original empirical sources, we apply this concept to the so-called Interna-
tional Geneva. We argue that conceptualizing headquarters as ecosystems helps to consider how HQs’location influences the
daily work of IOs.
Policy Implications
•The geographical and temporal proximity that characterizes IO ecosystems can lead to positive outcomes for the work of
IOs such as increased synergies between organizations, economies of scale, and having access to a qualified labor pool.
•However, these potential gains do not happen automatically. IO ecosystems need organizational leadership and resources
to foster cross-organization work, that may have a trickle-down effect on other members of the ecosystem (e.g. national
authorities, diplomatic representations, NGOs, etc.)
•Looking at an HQ city through an ecosystem lens helps to take into consideration the complex webs of relationships
between actors in this location. For researchers, it can help them to better plan and conduct their field investigation.
As part of their research process, most (if not all) scholars
willing to do ‘fieldwork’on international organizations (IOs)
must spend time in cities such as New York, Geneva or
Vienna either to conduct interviews, explore archives or par-
ticipate to international conferences. But the complexity of
these global governance hotspots is tremendous. On the
one hand, it can be overwhelming for practitioners, forcing
them to make great efforts to cope with the practices and
jargon in use in the duty station (Billaud, 2015). On the
other hand, the presence on the same territory of high
numbers of relevant stakeholders and of the multitude of
formal and informal exchanges between them can result in
an overflow of data which can make it difficult for research-
ers to conduct their analyses (Eckl, 2021).
Quite surprisingly, scholars in various social science
disciplines have devoted little attention to these spaces of
global governance. In anthropology, one can find few
studies that delve into the relation between an IO and the
city where it is headquartered (Ab
el
es, 2011; Ivanova,
2021; M€
uller, 2013; Niezen and Spagnoli, 2017). Historians
have provided useful accounts on the reasons why IOs
settle in specific cities (Meyer, 2013; Mires, 2013). In addi-
tion, one can find several impact analyses of the presence
of the UN on the cities of New York and Geneva for
instance (Fondation pour Gen
eve, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016;
City of New York, 2016; Universit
e de Gen
eve, 2015). We
argue in this article that it is essential to look beyond
these political and economic dimensions of headquarters
(HQ) cities in order to understand what effects the host
city has on the work of IOs. Some recent studies have
hinted at the importance of IOs’HQ notably for recruit-
ment (Badache, 2020) or for socialization (Murdoch et al.,
2019). We contend in this article that developing knowl-
edge on HQ cities could help to better understand IOs
themselves and global governance more broadly. In a nut-
shell, we argue that beyond the questions of who governs
the world (Avant et al., 2010), who are the globally gov-
erned (Weiss and Wilkinson, 2018), or why global
©2021 Durham University and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Global Policy (2022) 12:Suppl.7 doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12956
Global Policy Volume 12 . Supplement 7 . December 2021
24
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