Can Institutions Have Responsibilities?

Can institutions, in the sense of formal organizations, be considered vulnerable to moral burdens? The contributors to this book critically examine the idea of the 'collective' or 'institutional' moral agent in, inter alia , the guise of states, transnational corporations, the UN and international society. The viability of treating these entities as bearers of moral responsibilities is explored in the context of some of the most critical and debated issues and events in international relations, including the genocide in Rwanda, development aid, the Kosovo campaign and global justice.

Introduction: Making Sense of 'Responsibility' in International Relations: Key Questions and Concepts; T. Erskine PART I: IDENTIFYING MORAL AGENTS: STATES, GOVERNMENTS AND 'INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY' Assigning Responsibilities to Institutional Moral Agents: The Case of States and Quasi-states; T. Erskine Moral Responsibility and the Problem of Representing the State; D. Runciman Moral Agency and International Society: Reflections on Norms, the UN, the Gulf War, and the Kosovo Campaign; C. Brown PART II: OBSTACLES AND ALTERNATIVE QUESTIONS Collective Moral Agency and the Political Process; F. V. Harbour Constitutive Theory and Moral Accountability: Individuals, Institutions, and Dispersed Practices; M. Frost When Agents Cannot Act: International Institutions as 'Moral Patients'; C. Navari PART III: HARD CASES: ASSIGNING DUTIES NATO and the Individual Soldier as Moral Agents with Reciprocal Duties: Imbalance in the Kosovo Campaign; P. Cornish & F. V. Harbour The Anti-Sweatshop Movement: Constructing Corporate Moral Agency in the Global Apparel Industry; R. DeWinter PART IV: HARD CASES: APPORTIONING BLAME The Responsibility of Collective External Bystanders in Cases of Genocide: The French in Rwanda; D. Kroslak The United Nations and the Fall of Srebrenica: Meaningful Responsibility and International Society; A. F. Lang, Jr. PART V: CONCLUSIONS On 'Good Global Governance', Institutional Design and the Practices of Moral Agency; N. Rengger Global Justice: Aims, Arrangements and Responsibilities; C. Barry Selected Bibliography Index