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Constructing the International Foundations of E-Commerce—The EU-U.S. Safe Harbor Arrangement

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  • Farrell, Henry

Abstract

Much recent international relations scholarship has argued that states are unable to control e-commerce, so that private actors are coming to play a dominant role. However, this body of literature fails to account for emerging “hybrid institutions,” in which states create general frameworks of rules, which are then implemented by private actors. This article examines a prominent example of such an institution, the EU-U.S. Safe Harbor arrangement in the field of privacy, and sets out an alternative explanation of state–private actor relations in the sphere of e-commerce. It shows how Safe Harbor had its origins in efforts by the European Union (EU) and United States to mitigate problems of interdependence that threatened to undermine the principles of order on which their regulatory systems were based. Safe Harbor reflects neither the EU nor U.S. approach, but rather a novel blend of state and private regulation. The article demonstrates the vital role of argument and persuasion in identifying Safe Harbor as a solution, and in negotiating its particulars. It finds that conventional game-theoretic accounts of bargaining are unable to explain the negotiation of Safe Harbor, and argues that constructivist approaches should pay more attention to how argument can disclose new possibilities of action.

Suggested Citation

  • Farrell, Henry, 2003. "Constructing the International Foundations of E-Commerce—The EU-U.S. Safe Harbor Arrangement," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(2), pages 277-306, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:intorg:v:57:y:2003:i:02:p:277-306_57
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    Cited by:

    1. Büthe Tim, 2010. "Private Regulation in the Global Economy: A (P)Review," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(3), pages 1-40, October.
    2. Sargsyan, Tatevik, 2016. "The privacy role of information intermediaries through self-regulation," Internet Policy Review: Journal on Internet Regulation, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin, vol. 5(4), pages 1-17.
    3. Farrell Henry & Newman Abraham L., 2015. "Structuring power: business and authority beyond the nation state," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 17(3), pages 527-552, October.
    4. Pearson A. Broome, 2016. "Conceptualizing the foundations of a regional e-commerce strategy: Open networks or closed regimes? The case of CARICOM," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1139441-113, December.
    5. Gasser, Urs & Palfrey, John, 2011. "Fostering Innovation and Trade in the Global Information Society: The Different Facets and Roles of Interoperability," Papers 250, World Trade Institute.
    6. Newman, Abraham, 2006. "Struggling Over Civil Liberties: The Troubled Foundations of the West," Institute of European Studies, Working Paper Series qt0411j8nk, Institute of European Studies, UC Berkeley.
    7. Yuko Suda, 2013. "Transatlantic Politics of Data Transfer: Extraterritoriality, Counter-Extraterritoriality and Counter-Terrorism," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 772-788, July.

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