The Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies (“the Centre”) is an interdisciplinary research centre of the Humanities and Social Sciences at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. 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.
The Centre brings together talent from throughout the University. It operates on the basis of co-ownership and the strong conviction that interdisciplinary research creates added value to resolve complex multi-faceted international problems. The Centre promotes pioneering projects in law, economics and political science and actively initiates and encourages interdisciplinary, cross-cutting research initiatives in pursuit of solutions to real world problems. The cross-cutting initiatives are thematic projects around which University researchers join forces across disciplines to forge responses to complex global challenges. The cross-cutting initiatives address critical issues in relation to globalization, governance processes and multilateralism, with a particular focus on the following areas, taking the many cross-cutting issues into account:
(i) the European Union and global multilateral governance
(ii) trade and sustainable development
(iii) peace and security, including conflict prevention, crisis management and peacebuilding
(iv) human rights, democracy and rule of law
In full recognition of the complex issues involved, the Centre approaches global governance from a multi-level and multi-actor perspective.
The multi-level governance perspective takes the interactions between the various levels of governance (international, European, national, subnational, local) into account, with a particular emphasis on the multifaceted interactions between the United Nations System, the World Trade Organization, the European Union and other regional organizations/actors in global multilateral governance.
The multi-actors perspective pertains to the roles and interactions of various actors at different governance levels, these include public authorities, non-governmental organizations and private actors such as corporations.