The Networked Diplomacy of Informal International Institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 410-432
Author(s):  
Michael W. Manulak
Keyword(s):  
International Institutions ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Informal Governance ◽  
Informal Institution ◽  
Proliferation Security Initiative ◽  
Central Network

Abstract The rise of informal international institutions has been one of the most significant developments in institutional design and choice since the 1990s. While states have increasingly opted for informal governance, little is known about the character of intergovernmental relations in these settings. Scholars, for instance, debate whether great powers dominate such institutions, or whether influence can be exercised by a wider array of players. Drawing from the author’s experience as a government representative within the Proliferation Security Initiative, a leading informal institution, this article provides a theory-driven analysis of intergovernmental interactions within such bodies. It demonstrates that diplomacy within informal institutions tends to assume a decentralized, networked quality that favors actors positioned at the center of intergovernmental networks. In doing so, the article highlights clear means through which central network positions confer influence. The article also sheds new light on the Proliferation Security Initiative and on counterproliferation cooperation more generally.

scholarly journals A New and Reinvigorated Research Agenda for U.S. Local Governments

2021 ◽  
pp. 0160323X2199163
Author(s):  
Ann O’M. Bowman ◽  
Domonic A. Bearfield ◽  
Stefanie Chambers ◽  
Beverly A. Cigler ◽  
Arnold Fleischmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Intergovernmental Relations ◽  
Social Equity ◽  
Local Government Finance ◽  
Local Government Management ◽  
Vantage Points

This essay offers a perspective on a new and reinvigorated research agenda for the study of U.S. local governments. It reports on the ideas and reflections of a set of local government scholars with different vantage points and varied substantive interests. Seven paramount themes or directions for a research agenda were identified, all of which contain numerous threads and thrusts: local government finance and economic development, local government management, intergovernmental relations, collaboration, public engagement, social equity, and institutional design. The essay offers some reasons for optimism about the future of U.S. local governments while also identifying cause for concern.

un Security Council vs. Weapons of Mass Destruction

2016 ◽  
Vol 85 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-161
Author(s):  
Hans Blix
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Security Council ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Great Powers ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Nuclear Program ◽  
Major Powers ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
The Cold War

International institutions given the task to maintain collective security and to seek disarmament need to build on cooperation between major powers. The authors of the un Charter vested great powers in the Security Council but a consensus between the five permanent great powers was required for use of the powers. This inevitably paralyzed the Council during the Cold War. After the end of the Cold War, the permanent members have remained unable jointly to pursue disarmament, but they have succeeded in several remarkable cases to reach consensus, notably on measures to prevent the further spread of weapons of mass destruction. The quick action to eliminate chemical weapons in Syria was a win-win case led by us-Russian diplomacy, while the comprehensive deal settling the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program was a victory for patient diplomacy involving all permanent members and the eu. These actions show the potentials of the Council.

Pentecostalism as an Informal Political Institution: Experimental Evidence from Ghana

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-787 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. McCauley
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Dictator Game ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Informal Institution ◽  
Resource Endowment ◽  
The Status ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
New Form ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Cultural Leaders

AbstractInformal institutions continue to govern political exchange in Africa, but the traditional, ethnic-based form of “big man rule” is now threatened by an alternative informal institution — charismatic Pentecostalism. This study evaluates the status of Pentecostalism empirically, in a micro-level experiment in Ghana. Using data from a variant of the dictator game, in which participants divide a resource endowment with randomly assigned partners as well as cultural leaders, the study provides evidence of Pentecostal exclusivity, excessive allegiance to leaders, and a shift away from ethnic-based patronage to Pentecostal patronage. As Pentecostalism continues to expand, these findings suggest a modification in the exchange of resources for loyalty in Africa, and grounds for viewing the movement as a new form of big man rule in the region.

Role of informal institutions in biodiversity conservation: Perspective of the Santhal tribe of India

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 139-146
Author(s):  
Edwin Murmu ◽  
◽  
Bhupendra Singh Adhikari ◽  
Harsh Bardhan Vashistha ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Informal Institution ◽  
Key Informants ◽  
Specific Species ◽  
Conservation Of Biodiversity

The study provides insights into the role of an informal institution of the Santhal tribe of India in the conservation of biodiversity. The data has been collected from 124 Santhal key informants from six tribal districts from the states of Jharkhand (Dumka, Pakur and Sahibganj) and West Bengal (Birbhum, Bankura and West Medinipur) through the methods of stratified sampling, chain-referrals, personal interactions, and focussed group discussions. The taboos associated with biodiversity conservation have been categorized into six categories such as segment taboo, specific-species taboo, life-stage taboo, temporal taboo, habitat taboo and method taboo.

The quest for legitimacy in world politics – international institutions’ legitimation strategies

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-557 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Gronau ◽  
Henning Schmidtke
Keyword(s):  
Member State ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
World Politics ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Diffuse Support ◽  
Reliable Basis

AbstractThe article presents a top-down approach to the study of the empirical legitimacy of international institutions. It starts from the observation that international institutions’ representatives are engaged in various strategies aimed at cultivating generalised support. The article asserts that such strategies should be taken into account to gain deeper insights into the legitimation process of international institutions. To systematise these legitimation efforts and facilitate their empirical analysis, the article introduces the concept of legitimation strategies, which are defined as goal-oriented activities employed to establish and maintain a reliable basis of diffuse support. An analytical differentiation between three types of legitimation strategies is introduced depending on the addressees of legitimation strategies, that is, member state governments, international institutions’ staff, and the wider public. The applicability of the concept and the relevance of legitimation strategies for international institutions’ communication, behaviour, and institutional design is demonstrated by an empirical analysis of the G8’s and the IMF’s reaction to legitimation crises in the recent past of both institutions. In addition, the case studies suggest that a balanced set of legitimation strategies that takes into account the legitimacy concerns of all three constituencies is more likely to be successful in improving legitimacy perceptions.

scholarly journals Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Tobias Lenz
Keyword(s):  
International Institutions ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Successful Model ◽  
Barriers To Change ◽  
Large N ◽  
Regional Institution

This chapter introduces the main puzzle and argument of the book, and describes the research approach. It shows that authority-enhancing institutional change is frequent in regional organizations, yet existing theories expect international institutions to be fairly stable due to high institutional barriers to change and concerns about the sovereignty costs of independent international institutions. It is argued that one important driver of institutional creation and change is diffusion from the European Union, both as an active supporter of regional institution building and as a successful model of regional cooperation. This argument is tested through a mixed-methods design that includes large-N statistical analysis and several single and comparative case studies. The chapter also summarizes the main implications of the argument for theories of regional organization and for debates about international institutional design and diffusion.

scholarly journals Institutions and individual values motivating corporate social responsibility activities in large farms and agroholdings

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Anna Hajdu ◽  
Marcos F. Daziano ◽  
Oane Visser
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
National Level ◽  
Informal Institutions ◽  
Individual Values ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Large Farms ◽  
A Company

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities have been shown to derive from external and internal motivations of a company. Little attention has been given to motivations of managers in large farms and agroholdings to undertake CSR activities thanks to individual values and pressure from institutions. We therefore investigate the types of CSR activities conducted by 18 managers in large farms and agroholdings in Argentina. We underline their perception of social issues and their motivations to do CSR activities. The framework developed in this paper shows that given the lack of pressure from national-level formal and other informal institutions, individual values (informal institutions) and international institutions (certification schemes-formal institutions) carry more weight in managers’ decision to do CSR activities. While some of these motivations have an instrumental background, they overlap with normative motivations that underlie the business activity.

scholarly journals Making Sense of the Design of International Institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Voeten
Keyword(s):  
Path Dependence ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
Equilibrium Behavior ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Process Theories ◽  
Similarities And Differences

The design of international institutions varies in many ways: Institutions can be more or less formal, flexible, independent, precise, inclusive, centralized, and so on. This article classifies theoretical efforts to make sense of these similarities and differences. First, some theories focus on the bargains or contracts that attempt to construct equilibrium behavior while other theories analyze institutional design as a dynamic process. Second, theories vary in whether they understand institutional design as a response to the environment in which institutions operate or as a function of the incentives, interests, values, initiatives, and power of the actors that created the institutions. The article discusses four ideal-typical theoretical approaches that fit in each quadrant of the resulting 2×2 typology: rational functionalist, distributive rationalist, historical institutionalist, and structural process theories. These approaches identify different causes for suboptimal or even dysfunctional institutional design: domestic politics, power politics, path dependence, and culture. The conclusion discusses how these theories can help us make sense of current challenges to institutions and their design.

5. Neoliberalism

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sterling-Folker
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
World Trade ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Principal Agent Theory ◽  
Agent Theory ◽  
The World ◽  
Hegemonic Stability

This chapter examines the neoliberalist argument that international institutions promote international cooperation. While neoliberalism acknowledges that cooperation can be difficult to achieve in anarchic conditions, it insists that institutions allow states to overcome a variety of collective action impediments. The central concern of neoliberal analysis is how institutions do so, and how they might be redesigned to more efficiently obtain cooperative outcomes. This chapter considers three questions that are relevant for understanding neoliberal contributions: How did neoliberalism emerge? What are the barriers to international cooperation? How does neoliberalism study international institutions. The chapter uses the World Trade Organization as a case study to illustrate the importance of institutional design for international free trade cooperation. Along the way, various concepts such as interdependence, hegemonic stability, hegemon, bargaining, defection, compliance, autonomy, and principal–agent theory are discussed, along with the game known as Prisoner's Dilemma.

International institutions: weak commitments and costly signals

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa L. Martin
Keyword(s):  
World Trade ◽  
International Institutions ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Costly Signaling ◽  
Weak Institutions ◽  
The World ◽  
Ex Ante ◽  
Costly Signals ◽  
Commitment Devices

As commitment devices, international institutions encourage cooperation by imposing costs on members who do not live up to their commitments. However, the costs that institutions can impose are limited, so that their commitment capacity is weak. Institutions can also impose costs as a condition of membership, allowing them to serve as costly signals. A model of weak commitment and costly signaling leads to a number of hypotheses about patterns of cooperation, institutional membership, and states’ preferences over institutional design. For example, existing members of an institution should impose higherex antecosts when a potential new member could either gain significant benefits from reneging on their commitments in the future, and when the new member expects to gain high benefits from future cooperation. These results are consistent with empirical work on institutions including peacekeeping and the World Trade Organization.

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