Axel Marx
Charles Deberiotstraat 34 - box 3005
3000 Leuven
Belgium
tel: +32 16 32 53 66 or +32 16 32 87 25
contact
Short Bio
Axel Marx is Deputy Director at the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, KU Leuven. Founded in 2007, the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies is an interdisciplinary research centre of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the KU Leuven (University of Leuven). Marx has been involved as a research manager and senior researcher since its foundation. It was set up to promote, support and carry out high-quality international, innovative and interdisciplinary research on global governance. In addition to its fundamental research activities the Centre carries out independent applied research and offers innovative policy advice and solutions to policy-makers on multilateral governance and global public policy issues. Since 2010, the Centre has been recognized as a KU Leuven Centre of Excellence and since 2016 as a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.
Marx has managed over 40 funded research projects including multi-team and international FP7 and Horizon 2020 projects and acted as a consultant to several national and international organizations including the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Committee of the Regions, International Labour Organization, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the OECD, IDEA, Worldbank, the Belgian, Dutch and German Governments. His academic publications (100+) have appeared in four dozen leading international peer reviewed journals and 6 languages (English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch and Chinese). As a guest lecturer he has taught inter alia at European University Institute and China University of Political Science and Law. His research interests include voluntary sustainability standards, human rights, global governance, governance through trade, EU trade policy and comparative case methods.
Full Curriculum Vitae (update July 2020)
Publications
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Marx, Axel; Depoorter, Charline;
2021.
Achieving the 2030 Agenda: What Role for Voluntary Sustainability Standards?.
Transitioning to Strong Partnerships for the Sustainable Development Goals Transitioning to Sustainability; 2021; Vol. 17; pp. 95 - 110
Publisher: MDPI
LIRIAS3365176
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Kelbel, Camille; Marx, Axel; Navarro, Julien;
2021.
Editorial: Access or Excess? Redefining the Boundaries of Transparency in the EU's Decision-Making.
Politics And Governance; 2021; Vol. 9; iss. 1; pp. 221 - 225
LIRIAS3446196
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Publisher: Cogitatio Press
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Marx, Axel; Van der Loo, Guillaume;
2021.
Transparency in EU Trade Policy: A Comprehensive Assessment of Current Achievements.
Politics And Governance; 2021; Vol. 9; iss. 1; pp. 261 - 271
LIRIAS3446197
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Publisher: Cogitatio Press
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Bright, Claire; Marx, Axel; Pineau, Nina; Wouters, Jan;
2020.
Toward a Corporate Duty for Lead Companies to Respect Human Rights in Their Global Value Chains?.
Business and Politics; 2020; Vol. 22; iss. 4; pp. 1 - 31
LIRIAS3221181
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
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Hegde, Vineet; De Ridder, maaike; Van der Loo, guillaume; Marx, axel; Wouters, jan;
2020.
Authority, Legitimacy and the Rule of Law in EU Trade Policy: A Case Study of the International Investment Regime.
Publisher: RECONNECT EU
LIRIAS3286102
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Bright, Claire; Lica, Diana; Marx, Axel; Van Calster, Geert;
2020.
Options for mandatory human rights due diligence in Belgium.
Publisher: Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies
LIRIAS3061032
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Lebzelter, Thomas; Marx, Axel;
2020.
Is EU GSP plus Fostering Good Governance? Results from a New GSP plus Compliance Index.
Journal Of World Trade; 2020; Vol. 54; iss. 1; pp. 1 - 30
LIRIAS3120174
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Publisher: Werner Pub.
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Marx, axel;
2019.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals: an Interdisciplinary Academic Introduction: SDG 4 on Quality Education.
LIRIAS2930514
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Marx, A;
2019.
Public-private partnerships for sustainable development: Exploring their design and its impact on effectiveness.
Sustainability (Switzerland); 2019; Vol. 11; iss. 4; pp. -
LIRIAS2379029
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Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
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Marx, Axel; Wouters, Jan; Bright, Claire;
2019.
Study on Access to legal remedies for victims of corporate human rights abuses in third countries.
Publisher: European Parliament
LIRIAS2364965
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chapterJordana, J; Holesch, A; Keating, M; Marx, Axel; Wouters, Jan; 2019. Self-determination and the reconfiguration of the nation-state in Europe. Changing Borders in Europe: Exploring the Dynamics of Integration, Differentiation and Self-Determination in the European Union; 2019; pp. 247 - 262 Publisher: RoutledgeLIRIAS2999491
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editedbookKeating, M; Jordana, J; Marx, A; Wouters, J; 2019. Changing Borders in Europe: Exploring the Dynamics of Integration, Differentiation and Self-Determination in the European Union. Publisher: Routledge; London keyboard_arrow_downLIRIAS1998248
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© 2019 Jacint Jordana, Michael Keating, Axel Marx and Jan Wouters. All rights reserved. Changing Borders in Europe focuses on the territorial dimension of the European Union. It examines the transformation of state sovereignty within the EU, the emergence of varied self-determination claims, and the existence of a tailor-made architecture of functional borders, established by multiple agreements. This book helps to understand how self-determination pressures within the EU are creating growing concerns about member states' identity, redefining multi-level government in the European space. It addresses several questions regarding two transformative processes - blurring of EU borders and state sovereignty shifts - and their interrelations from different disciplinary perspectives such as political science, law, political economy and sociology. In addition, it explores how the variable geographies of European borders may affect the issue of national self-determination in Europe, opening spaces for potential accommodations that could be compatible with existing states and legal frameworks. This book will be of key interest for scholars, students and practitioners of EU politics, public administration, political theory, federalism and more broadly of European studies, international law, ethnic studies, political economy and the wider social sciences.
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chapterKeating, M; Jordana, J; Marx, Axel; Wouters, Jan; 2019. States, sovereignty, borders and self-determination in Europe. Changing Borders in Europe: Exploring the Dynamics of Integration, Differentiation and Self-Determination in the European Union; 2019; pp. 1 - 20 Publisher: RoutledgeLIRIAS2371764
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chapterJordana, Jacint; Holesch, Adam; Keating, Michael; Marx, Axel; Wouters, Jan; 2019. Self-determination and the reconfiguration of the nation-state in Europe. CHANGING BORDERS IN EUROPE: EXPLORING THE DYNAMICS OF INTEGRATION, DIFFERENTIATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION; 2019; pp. 247 - 262 Publisher: ROUTLEDGELIRIAS2912793
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chapterKeating, Michael; Jordana, Jacint; Marx, Axel; Wouters, Jan; 2019. States, sovereignty, borders and self-determination in Europe. CHANGING BORDERS IN EUROPE: EXPLORING THE DYNAMICS OF INTEGRATION, DIFFERENTIATION AND SELF-DETERMINATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION; 2019; pp. 1 - 20 Publisher: ROUTLEDGELIRIAS2912792
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chapterMarx, Axel; Bright, C; Pineau, Nina; Wouters, Jan; 2019. Corporate Accountability Mechanisms in EU Member States for Corporate Human Right Abuses in Third Countries. European Yearbook on Human Rights; 2019; Vol. 19; pp. 157 - 185 Publisher: IntersentiaLIRIAS2905074
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Marx, A;
2018.
Integrating Voluntary Sustainability Standards in trade policy: The case of the European Union's GSP scheme.
Sustainability (Switzerland); 2018; Vol. 10; iss. 12; pp. 1 - 22
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LIRIAS2340636
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© 2018 by the authors. Trade policy is increasingly being used as a policy instrument to pursue non-trade objectives such as environmental protection or the protection of labour rights. A key example is the European Union's Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP). The current approach is being confronted with significant challenges. How these challenges can be addressed is currently subject to debate, and increased attention is turning to the role that private governance mechanisms can play in this context. This paper will look into the potential role that Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) can play. The paper will analyse and assess the complementarity between VSS and EU GSP, and it contributes to the literature on interactions between private and public policy-making for sustainability. The main research question focuses on what role VSS can play in the European Union's GSP scheme. To answer the question, the paper develops two models by which VSS can be integrated in EU GSP (a mandatory and a voluntary approach). The study is based on interviews with key experts from different stakeholder groups and an analysis of the ITC standards map database. The paper shows that the integration of VSS in EU GSP, as outlined in the two models, is confronted with several challenges. These challenges are discussed, and alternatives are explored.
Publisher: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
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Marx, Axel; Wouters, Jan;
2018.
Explaining New Models of Global Voluntary Regulation: What Can Organisational Studies Contribute?.
Global Policy; 2018; Vol. 9; iss. 1; pp. 121 - 128
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LIRIAS1625763
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© 2018 University of Durham and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd Global governance in its myriad forms and actor constellations has decisively demonstrated the potential for rule-making above the nation state to be liberated from the ‘iron cage’ of traditional intergovernmental forums and multilateral bureaucracy. To further investigate an increasingly complex global reality, we propose drawing on organisational theories and methods for penetrating the internal dynamics of global governance processes and outcomes. This article begins by mapping out the current use of organisational theories in global governance research. It then turns to exploring the potential for other areas of organisational theory and conceptual development to shed light on the governance dynamics and performance of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS), a significant site of transnational rule-making and experimentation by private actors. We highlight a paradigmatic shift from ‘arms-length’ to ‘embedded’ models of VSS monitoring and regulation, reflected in new modes of engagement and interaction between rule-makers and rule-takers. This new generation of embedded VSS governance is distinguishable by enhanced information provision, learning and knowledge creation. The implications of embedded governance for VSS monitoring and performance are explored with reference to the experience of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF).
Publisher: Wiley
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editedbook2018. Global Governance. Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing; CheltenhamLIRIAS2327562
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reportWouters, Jan; Marx, Axel; Lein, B; Sharma, A; Suse, Andrei-Gavril; Willemyns, Ines; Ebert, F; 2018. What Role can Voluntary Sustainability Standards play in the European Union’s GSP Scheme? Report for the German Ministry of Development Cooperation.. Publisher: Leuven Centre for Global Governance StudiesLIRIAS1998265
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