Hidden Agendas: The Politics of Smart Governance Mixes for Deforestation-Free Supply Chains

This paper investigates the politics of smart governance mixes to address sustainability risks in global supply chains. Popularized by John Ruggie, the founding father of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, a “smart mix of measures” complements mandatory public regulation with voluntary private governance instruments. To improve the implementation of due diligence laws, smart mix proponents moreover call for a better integration of governance instruments on the demand side and supply side of global supply chains. In the European Union, the introduction of a new mandatory due diligence law for forest-risk supply chains has sparked much debate among stakeholders about the need for such a “smart mix 2.0”. Interrogating the smart mix policy agenda, the paper reveals how its emphasis on collective action, problem solving, and the protection of rights and livelihoods, obscures particularistic interests and conservative agendas. The paper uncovers these hidden agendas and examines the ensuing public-private and North-South politics. Through an in-depth case study approach, it investigates the various actor coalitions, their struggles, conflicts, and the emerging institutional settlements. By looking beneath the functionalist veneer that dominates in public policy discourses on smart governance mixes for global supply chains, the paper advances a politically grounded understanding of the concept.