National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights: an Experimentalist Governance Analysis

Abstract National Action Plans (NAPs) on business and human rights are a growing phenomenon. Since 2011, 42 such plans have been adopted or in-development worldwide. By comparison, only 39 general action were published between 1993 2021. In parallel, NAPs attracted scholarly interest. While some studies highlight their potential to advance national compliance with international norms, others criticise as cosmetic devices that states use deflect attention from persisting abuses needed regulation. response wider critiques of failure exact universal state compliance, experimentalist governance theory highlights the dynamic, dialogic iterative character implementation well role stakeholders. this article, we apply evaluate NAPs. Rather than attempting NAPs’ ultimate consequences for rights-holders, which appears premature, focus processes. Specifically, analyse processes in twenty-five against five criteria relating (i) stakeholder participation; (ii) agreement broad problem definition; (iii) local contextualisation; (iv) monitoring peer review (v) periodic revision learning. According our findings, most demonstrate resemblance traits governance. particular, analysis points emergence relatively sophisticated demanding institutional mechanisms within — including institutionalisation complex deliberative Nevertheless, paper also identifies significant shortcomings NAPs, related lack inclusion vulnerable groups explicit indicators targets.