Multi-scalar globalization and political governance: Lessons from negotiations over Colombia’s Poverty and Inequality Reduction Strategy, 2006-2015

Drawing on an analysis of negotiations between the Colombian government and international donors over Colombia’s Poverty and Inequality Reduction Strategy, this article describes the normative, institutional and technical patterns that configure a political governance structure within the international cooperation and development system. The article argues that this structure works as an interface that integrates global governance processes aimed at the regulation of global risks (e.g. poverty and inequality) into national political systems in aid-receiving countries. This case study suggests that the shape of this governance structure leads to a form of ‘agreed violation’ of sovereignty that can be defined and analysed as an instance of the ‘emergent formations of multi-scalar globalization’, to which the sociology of globalization refers. However, this interpretation necessitates a fine-tuning of the sociology of globalization’s understanding of governance, which is discussed in this article.