AbstractThe expansion of the International Labour Organization (ILO's) body of norms between 1945 and 1970 remains unique. However, little quantitative research has been done to date on how universalising ideas of the Declaration of Philadelphia of 1944 are reflected in the adoptions of the following period and are challenged by conflicting normative developments, such as the simultaneous evolution of segmenting instruments oriented towards a "Standard Employment Relationship" (SER) of a Global

more »

... North origin. The article traces the adoption developments of ILO conventions and situates them along central historical developments (colonialism, changes in membership structure). It argues that the ILO helped to foster an ideal concept of employment, namely the SER, whose regulatory ideas stemmed historically from the Global North and became spread through worldwide ratifications of ILO conventions.