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Paper short abstract:

This paper explores meeting situations in the context of the United Nations. In the particular setting of a globally acting bureaucracy international civil servants face various challenges when negotiating internationalized forms of collaboration and decision-making.

Paper long abstract:

Meetings are an essential part of the daily (project) work in the UN context. Staff members with different (socio-)cultural backgrounds and hierarchical positions have to find new ways of working together that are suitable for the international bureaucratic setting.

Based on ethnographic field research including participant observation as well as qualitative interviews the author will present first findings about how international civil servants employed in the UN headquarters in Vienna negotiate forms of collaboration and processes of decision-making. How much room for negotiations exists and where are its limitations? What does this mean for project outcomes and successful policy making? Are there perhaps ritualized forms of interactions that help to bridge gaps, insecurities and misunderstandings?

Furthermore, the author will share her experiences when investigating daily work situations in a large international bureaucracy during several internships. She will discuss the advantages as well as the specific problem issues of partly investigative ethnography.