Almost four decades have passed since the European Court of Human Rights introduced the concept of positive obligations. Positive obligations mean that the member states must take affirmative action in order to secure the rights and freedoms provided for by the European Convention on Human Rights. Since then, the scope of positive obligations has extended tremendously, and today all substantive rights generally contain positive obligations. The reason behind the development is to maintain the full effectiveness of human rights enforcement within the European context, and it has been enabled, inter alia, through dynamic interpretation and because the European Convention on Human Rights is considered a living instrument.  The fact that European companies operating transnationally, i.e. in a non-European context, sometimes through its commercial activities violates human rights has given rise to discussion in legal doctrine on whether the scope of positive obligations should be further extended so that the member states to the European Convention on Human Rights will incur state responsibility for national corporates’ extraterritorial human rights violations. Thus, the purpose of the thesis is to examine whether the European Court of Human Rights can and should proceed with such expansion. An expansion creates methodological and technical problems as it challenges the traditional notion of jurisdiction, however, it is not impossible. Whatever the European Court of Human Rights will decide to do, the thesis will provide arguments both for why home state responsibility for national corporates’ extraterritorial activities that violates human rights can and should be imposed, as well for why it is beyond its (the European Court of Human Rights) competence.

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o surgimento do movimento transnacional cigano e suas abordagens políticas na esfera internacional, destacando os dilemas acerca da integração e da autodeterminação. Esta tese examina o surgimento de ideias políticas ciganase como foi moldado o chamado movimento romani. Apesar de ser a mais numerosa minoria europeia, os ciganos não são representados adequadamente no contexto político doméstico dos Estados onde vivem. Diante da situação caracterizada pelamarginalização e exclusão, os ativistas objetivam proteger os ciganos em todo o mundo contra a discriminação e a perseguição por meio da garantia dos seus direitos humanos. Acondição multiterritorial e multicultural dos grupos ciganos coloca um importante desafio aos objetivos dos ativistas. Assim, esta pesquisa também explora as dimensões identitárias e históricas dos ciganos a fim de analisar as tentativas e possibilidades de criar uma comunidade romani transnacional. Por fim, esta tese investigatambém a possibilidade desta comunidade ser formada a partir de uma conexão religiosa, coordenada pelomovimento evangélico ciganoda Europa Ocidental, a fim de compreender sua rápida expansão por meio das redes ciganas e identificar suas abordagens territoriais. / The aim of this work is to examinethe emergence of the Romani transnational movementand its political approaches in the international arena, focusing their dilemmas over integration and self-determination. This research describes how some political ideas emerged from Romani activists and how the so called Romani movement was shaped. Despite being the largest European minority, the Gypsies are not represented adequately in the domestic politicalcontexts of the countries they are living in. In face of marginalization and exclusion, Roma activists aim to protect Gypsies worlwide against discrimination and persecutionby ensuring the exercise of their human rights. The Romani multiterritorial and multicultural condition poses an important challenge to the activists. The research also explores the identity and historical dimensions of the Gypsies in order to analyse the attempts and possibilities to forge a transnational Romani community. Finally, this workexamines the possibility of unification through religion, coordinated bythe Evangelical Romani movementfrom Western Europe as to understand its dramatic expansion through Romani networks,identifyingits territorial approaches.

Esta dissertação de mestrado trata do fenômeno da regulação público-privada e da mudança do clima, com ênfase na influência que os padrões de sustentabilidade relativos à emissão de Gases de Efeito Estufa - GEEs, pode ter sobre este debate. Para tanto, em primeiro lugar, buscou-se aprofundar a compreensão sobre a ascensão dos atores não estatais como agentes fundamentais do processo de regulação em arenas nacionais e transnacionais. Abordagens do Direito, da Economia, da Ciência Política e das Relações Internacionais tratam o fenômeno da regulação privada sob óticas distintas, que ora dialogam entre si, ora não. De onde advém a legitimidade e a autoridade da regulação privada? Qual o seu alcance? Diversas perguntar nascem no seio deste debate, que culmina no conceito de padrões de sustentabilidade. Os padrões de sustentabilidade são o objeto desta pesquisa, que também se debruça sobre a ampla discussão do papel que estes padrões exercem, ou podem exercer no futuro, sobre o comércio internacional. Não há consenso na literatura sobre esse ponto, a despeito de uma prevalência da visão clássica da Economia e do Direito, de que este tipo de regulação é potencialmente danoso à estrutura de governança global estabelecida, a saber, a Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC). Finalmente, o estudo aprofunda as análises sobre o papel dos padrões de sustentabilidade relativos à mudança do clima, caracterizados, especificamente, por possuírem como marca principal a contabilidade da pegada de carbono de produtos, serviços e processos. As reflexões propostas abarcam tanto a capacidade destes \'padrões de sustentabilidade de carbono\' de mitigar emissões de GEEs, quanto o seu eventual impacto sobre o comércio internacional. As conclusões abrem a discussão para uma agenda futura de pesquisa sobre o tema. / This master\'s thesis deals with the phenomenon of public-private regulation and climate change, with emphasis on the influence that the private standards regarding the emission of Greenhouse Gases, can have on this debate. Firstly, we sought to deepen our understanding of the rise of non-state actors as fundamental agents of the regulation process in national and transnational arenas. Approaches from the law, economics, political science, and international relations fields deal with the phenomenon of private regulation under different optics, which may or may not be interconnected. Where does the legitimacy and authority of private regulation come from? What is its scope? Several questions are born within this debate, culminating in the concept of private standards. Private standards are the object of this research, which also deals with the broad discussion of the role that these standards play, or may have in the future, over international trade. There is no consensus in the literature on this point, despite a prevalence of the classical view from economics and law that this type of regulation is potentially damaging to the established global governance structure, namely the World Trade Organization (WTO). Finally, the study further analyzes the role of private standards related to climate change, characterized for accounting the carbon footprint of products, services and processes. The proposed reflections cover both the ability of these \'private carbon standards\' to mitigate GHG emissions and their impact on international trade. The conclusions open the discussion for a future research agenda on the topic.

Esta dissertação de mestrado trata do fenômeno da regulação público-privada e da mudança do clima, com ênfase na influência que os padrões de sustentabilidade relativos à emissão de Gases de Efeito Estufa - GEEs, pode ter sobre este debate. Para tanto, em primeiro lugar, buscou-se aprofundar a compreensão sobre a ascensão dos atores não estatais como agentes fundamentais do processo de regulação em arenas nacionais e transnacionais. Abordagens do Direito, da Economia, da Ciência Política e das Relações Internacionais tratam o fenômeno da regulação privada sob óticas distintas, que ora dialogam entre si, ora não. De onde advém a legitimidade e a autoridade da regulação privada? Qual o seu alcance? Diversas perguntar nascem no seio deste debate, que culmina no conceito de padrões de sustentabilidade. Os padrões de sustentabilidade são o objeto desta pesquisa, que também se debruça sobre a ampla discussão do papel que estes padrões exercem, ou podem exercer no futuro, sobre o comércio internacional. Não há consenso na literatura sobre esse ponto, a despeito de uma prevalência da visão clássica da Economia e do Direito, de que este tipo de regulação é potencialmente danoso à estrutura de governança global estabelecida, a saber, a Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC). Finalmente, o estudo aprofunda as análises sobre o papel dos padrões de sustentabilidade relativos à mudança do clima, caracterizados, especificamente, por possuírem como marca principal a contabilidade da pegada de carbono de produtos, serviços e processos. As reflexões propostas abarcam tanto a capacidade destes \'padrões de sustentabilidade de carbono\' de mitigar emissões de GEEs, quanto o seu eventual impacto sobre o comércio internacional. As conclusões abrem a discussão para uma agenda futura de pesquisa sobre o tema. / This master\'s thesis deals with the phenomenon of public-private regulation and climate change, with emphasis on the influence that the private standards regarding the emission of Greenhouse Gases, can have on this debate. Firstly, we sought to deepen our understanding of the rise of non-state actors as fundamental agents of the regulation process in national and transnational arenas. Approaches from the law, economics, political science, and international relations fields deal with the phenomenon of private regulation under different optics, which may or may not be interconnected. Where does the legitimacy and authority of private regulation come from? What is its scope? Several questions are born within this debate, culminating in the concept of private standards. Private standards are the object of this research, which also deals with the broad discussion of the role that these standards play, or may have in the future, over international trade. There is no consensus in the literature on this point, despite a prevalence of the classical view from economics and law that this type of regulation is potentially damaging to the established global governance structure, namely the World Trade Organization (WTO). Finally, the study further analyzes the role of private standards related to climate change, characterized for accounting the carbon footprint of products, services and processes. The proposed reflections cover both the ability of these \'private carbon standards\' to mitigate GHG emissions and their impact on international trade. The conclusions open the discussion for a future research agenda on the topic.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

The profound and observable changes in the world, including globalization, in the last decades have weakened the state power vis-&agrave / -vis non-state actors. This process naturally, has marked down the state capacity to protect and promote internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms. In this context, TNCs, the principle actors of economic globalization, not only threaten the enjoyment of human rights, but also challenge to the state-centric human rights understanding. This thesis claims that the state-centric paradigm has got difficulties to locate non-state actors that violate human rights. While this study proceeds from the premise that the state is the primary responsible actor, it cannot certainly be considered as the sole responsible actor for human rights. Likewise, the thesis suggests that a new international mechanism that holds also non-state actors, particularly TNCs, responsible for human rights needs to be established.

Non-state actors, such as international environmental organisations, business associations and indigenous peoples organisations, increasingly take on governance functions that can influence the delivery of global public goods. This thesis examines the roles of these actors in the field of global climate change governance. Specifically, the thesis examines why and how non-state actors are involved in global climate change governance, the governance activities that they may perform and are perceived to perform, and their views on climate change solutions. The thesis also discusses the implications of their roles for how authority is shared between states and non-state actors in global climate change governance. The research questions are addressed by triangulating several empirical methods. The results show that the roles of non-state actors are continuously evolving and depend on the changing nature of relations between state and non-state actors as well as efforts by non-state actors to expand their policy space by justifying and seeking recognition for their participation. Moreover, the findings point to the importance of differentiating between groups of non-state actors, as they represent diverse interests and have different comparative advantages across governance activities. Which non-state actors participate and to what extent therefore has implications for the effects of their involvement in global climate change governance. On the basis of a systematic assessment of a set of non-state actors, this thesis concludes that the key role-categories of non-state actors in global climate change governance are broadly: shapers of information and ideas, brokers of knowledge, norms and initiatives, and doers of implementing policies and influencing behaviours. Different non-state actors carry out activities within these role-categories to different extents. In addition to the empirical mapping of the roles of non-state actors in global climate change governance, this thesis contributes to two strands in the literature: one theoretical focusing on the authority and legitimacy of non-state actors in global environmental governance, and the other methodological, offering a toolbox that combines survey data with qualitative methods. / Icke-statliga aktörer, exempelvis internationella miljöorganisationer, näringslivsorganisationer och ursprungsbefolkningsorganisationer, fyller alltmer framträdande funktioner i den globala klimatstyrningen. Dessa organisationer kan därmed påverka utformningen av globala kollektiva nyttigheter. Denna avhandling undersöker dessa aktörers roller inom den globala klimatstyrningen. Avhandlingen utforskar varför och på vilket sätt icke-statliga aktörer deltar i den globala klimatstyrningen, uppfattningar om vilka styraktiviteter de utför, och ifall de bidrar till en mer pluralistisk syn på klimatproblematikens lösningar. I avhandlingen diskuteras vilka konsekvenser de icke-statliga aktörernas roller har för hur auktoritet delas mellan stater och icke-statliga aktörer i den globala klimatpolitiken. Forskningsfrågorna behandlas genom att triangulera flera empiriska metoder. Resultaten från dessa undersökningar visar att de icke-statliga aktörernas roller utvecklas kontinuerligt och att dynamiken dels beror på den skiftande relationen mellan statliga och icke-statliga aktörer, dels på de icke-statliga aktörernas egna ansträngningar att öka sitt politiska handlingsutrymme och få erkännande för sitt deltagande. Dessutom pekar resultaten på vikten av att skilja mellan olika grupper av icke-statliga aktörer, eftersom de representerar skilda intressen och har komparativa fördelar i olika styraktiviteter. En konsekvens av detta är att det spelar roll vilka grupper av icke-statliga aktörer som ges tillträde till den internationella klimatdiplomatin. Baserat på en systematisk  bedömning av vad några av de icke-statliga aktörerna anses göra, dras slutsatsen att de viktigaste rollkategorierna som icke-statliga aktörer har är: formare av information och idéer, mäklare av kunskap, normer och initiativ, och görare genom att bidra till implementering och påverka beteenden, men att olika icke-statliga aktörer utför dessa roller i olika utsträckning. Utöver den empiriska kartläggningen av icke-statliga aktörers roller i den globala klimatstyrningen, bidrar avhandlingen dels till den teoretiska litteraturen kring icke-statliga aktörers auktoritet och legitimitet inom den globala miljöstyrningen, dels metodologiskt genom att utveckla analysverktyg som kombinerar enkätdata med kvalitativa metoder.

Why has the United States, given its status as the sole remaining superpower following its Cold War victory, been unable to translate its preponderance of power into the outcomes it desires? The system established by the United States over the course of the Cold War does not effectively translate its power into influence in the post-Cold War world. In fact, the way US-Soviet competition shaped global affairs created systemic problems, weak and failing states, terrorism, autocracy and human rights abuse, that cannot be solved by the mechanisms of influence the US relied upon to win the Cold War. However, precisely these issues now dominate the American foreign policy agenda as its strategic objective shifted from defeating communism to maintaining the stability of the liberal world order that resulted from communism’s defeat. The United States, reliant on Cold War era mechanisms of influence, lacks the tools to accomplish these new objectives because these mechanisms were designed to exploit or accept the problems of statehood that now plague the liberal world order. Therefore, for the United States to make effective use of its abundance of power, it must either change its tools or its objectives.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.