This book investigates how the proliferation of indicators and global rankings functions as a mechanism of power and governance in contemporary policy-making. The authors, a multidisciplinary team of legal scholars and sociologists, analyze the technical construction of these metrics and the sociopolitical consequences of their adoption by international organizations and states. By examining the lifecycle of indicators, the text argues that quantification is not a neutral exercise but a transformative process that reshapes institutional behavior and global policy priorities.

Experts in international law and public administration identify this work as a foundational text for understanding the influence of metrics on global governance. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous examination of how quantification alters institutional decision-making.