‘Borderline Work: ILO Explorations onto the Housing Scene until 1940'

Résumé En Fr

The ILO is especially interesting because of the clear desire of the director and staff of its international secretariat to escape what they perceived as the straightjacket of their constitution: what we have at hand is a test tube where the agency of an international organization can be observed as it tried to establish its authority over contested grounds. The case of housing, a borderline theme that did not make it to the mainstream of ILO policy, will be examined from this point of view. After a narrative of the failed attempt to bring housing firmly within the ILO province, the chapter excoriates some of the strategies of the Office leadership as they tried, very proactively, to muster support and to enrol knowledge and public opinion. One of the salient aspects of this strategy, the interaction of the Office with international associations will be put in perspective in the last section, for its relevance to current relationships between intergovernmental organisations and international nongovernmental organisations.

à partir de l'analyse de la tentative manquée de faire du logement une des terrains d'action de l'Organisation Internationale du Travail, ce chapitre explore les différentes manières dont le Bureau International du Travail a travaillé à étendre les limites de son mandat et de son territoire. Pour cette organisation bien spéciale, et à souveraineté faible, le recours à l'opinion publique et à la rationalité scientifique furent des outils essentiels. cela donna lieu à une stratégie originale de mobilisation ou de création d'associations internationales destinées à fournir données, études et appui à la tentative d'élargissement des compétences de l'OIT vers le logement des ouvriers.