Abstract

Over the last several decades, private actors—corporations, philanthropic foundations, and non-governmental organizations—have increasingly contributed to the development and implementation of public international law. In some cases, private actors are developing standards that serve as substitutes for public regulation. In other cases, private actors have been “invited in” to public international organizations as funders, accredited observers and consultants, and even representatives of member states. According to one estimate, 56 percent of international organizations offered some form of access to private actors in 1990; two decades later, more than 90 percent did.

 What we are witnessing, in other words, is the growing privatization of international organizations. Recent developments in technology and artificial intelligence seem poised to accelerate this trend, generating doubts about the capacity of governments to keep up at the national and international levels alike. Looking ahead, this symposium posed the question: are corporations and algorithms the new “sovereigns?”

The short answer, I will venture, is no. Non-state actors will remain important and influential players. But they have not and will not displace states as the primary actors on the international stage. Importantly, this claim is descriptive and not normative. It may well be that states ought to be displaced (though that is not my view). My claim is not simply that states will just retain formal sovereignty and the appearance of control within international institutions. The claim is about who’s really calling the shots.

Keywords: private actors, public international law, sovereigns, AI, technology