The International Organization for Standardization (ISO): Global Governance through Voluntary Consensus

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the first full-length study of the largest nongovernmental, global regulatory network whose scope and influence rivals that of the UN system. Much of the interest in the successes and failures of global governance focuses around high profile organisations such as the United Nations, World Bank and World Trade Organisation. This volume is one of few books that explore both the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) role as a facilitator of essential economic infrastructure and the implication of ISO techniques for a much wider realm of global governance. Through detailing the initial rationale behind the ISO and a systematic discussion of how this low profile organization has developed, Murphy and Yates provide a comprehensive survey of the ISO as a powerful force on the way commerce is conducted in a changing and increasingly globalized world.

About the Author

Craig N. Murphy is M. Margaret Ball Professor of International Relations at Wellesley College. He is past president of the International Studies Association, past chair of the Academic Council on the UN System and a founding editor of the international public policy journal, Global Governance. JoAnne Yates is Sloan Distinguished Professor of Management and Deputy Dean at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Her research encompasses both historical and contemporary organizations with a focus on changing communication and information technologies and the related work practices.