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MONOGRAPHS
LOCKEAN LIBERALISM IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (with Claudio J. Katz)
Cambridge University Press (Cambridge Elements), 2024
This book applies a new version of liberalism to international relations (IR), one that derives from the political theory of John Locke. It begins with a survey of liberal IR theories, showing that the main variants of this approach have all glossed over classical liberalism's core concern: fear of the state's concentrated power and the imperative of establishing institutions to restrain its inevitable abuse. The authors tease out from Locke's work its 'realist' elements: his emphasis on politics, power, and restraints on power (the 'Lockean tripod'). They then show how this Lockean approach (1) complements existing liberal approaches and answers some of the existing critiques directed toward them, (2) offers a broader analytical framework for several very different strands of IR literature, and (3) has broad theoretical and practical implications for international relations.
Learn more at Cambridge University Press
RESTRAINING POWER THROUGH INSTITUTIONS: A UNIFYING THEME FOR DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
Oxford University Press, 2023
This book challenges mainstream scholarly literature, which has generally argued that we cannot develop meaningful analogies between domestic and international politics. It shows that there are important parallels one can draw across these two realms, but only if we compare political interactions among states over the past two centuries to those within states going back about one thousand years. It focuses specifically on the evolution of institutions that restrain concentrated power, such as courts, assemblies, and bureaucracies.
Learn more at Oxford University Press
THE EBB AND FLOW OF GLOBAL GOVERNANCE: INTERGOVERNMENTALISM VS. NONGOVERNMENTALISM IN WORLD POLITICS
Cambridge University Press, 2020
The book begins from the observation that the traditional dichotomous distinction between intergovernmental organizations and international nongovernmental organizations is flawed. In fact, I suggest that all international organizations (IOs) and, more broadly, global governance, fall on an intergovernmental-nongovernmental continuum. The book further shows that IOs and global governance have shifted many times back and forth across this continuum over the past century and a half. I develop a set of hypotheses to explain why such shifts take place. I consider multiple such explanations but focus primarily on the role played by the ideologies and institutions of the most powerful states. I assess the strength of these arguments by following developments in three important issue-areas since 1850: the global governance of health, labor and technical standards.
DEMOCRATIC INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS? NORMATIVE PRESSURES AND DECISIONS-MAKING RULES
Cambridge University Press, 2015
This work posits that, over the past two centuries, democratic norms have spread from domestic politics to intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). It explores how norms shaped IGO decision-making rules such as those driving state participation, voting, access to information, and the role of NGOs and transnational parliaments. The study emphasizes the role of 'normative pressures' (the interaction between norm strength and the degree to which the status quo strays from norm prescriptions). Using primary and secondary sources to assess the plausibility of its arguments across two centuries and two dozen IGOs, the book focuses on developments in the League of Nations, the International Labor Organization, the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Union, and the World Trade Organization.
JOURNAL ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS
CONNECTING INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC DOTS: HOW CONFLICT ENTANGLEMENT INFORMATION RESOLUTION AND ESCALATION
with Molly Melin,
International Journal of Conflict Management, forthcoming
This articles seeks to understand how civil conflict and international claims inform one another. Does the existence of ongoing civil and international conflicts affect how a government addresses an international claim? The study builds on existing literature that link international and domestic conflict. However, it suggests that the logic behind civil conflicts may be different from that for international ones as states decide how to deal with any one claim.
INTERGOVERNMENTALISM VS. NONGOVERNMENTALISM: PROJECTING DOMESTIC PREFERENCES TO GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
with Caglayan Baser,
World Politics, 2019, 71(1): 88-125
This article seeks to explain when governments are more likely to take an intergovernmental approach to resolving global collective problems rather than step back and encourage (or simply allow) nongovernmental actors to become the main global governors. The authors suggest that an important factor driving this choice is the domestic ideological leanings of powerful states toward greater or lesser government activism. Such ideologies connect domestic preferences to international ones. They also lead to the establishment of domestic institutions that, in turn, facilitate the emergence of international organizations. Using these arguments, the authors develop a set of inferences regarding the likelihood that governments will establish and join intergovernmental organizations. The authors test their hypotheses through a study of global governance in the education realm, and also apply a series of statistical analyses covering developments in all issue-areas over the last century and a half.
MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION
with Molly Melin,
Conflict Resolution Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 3, Spring 2017
States have a multitude of tools for territorial dispute resolution at their disposal ranging from direct bilateral negotiations to third-party states to international organizations ( IOs ). While the literature explores when states are more likely to accept a third party in their negotiations and when they are more likely to seek a resolution to their disputes bilaterally, we have little understanding of why states are more likely to seek IOs for such tasks. We examine the disputants that prefer certain confl ict managers, with a focus on the distinguishing characteristics of IO -led confl ict management. We derive a set of hypotheses based on our expectations that, due to the institutional and multilateral characteristics of IOs , certain states will turn to them to resolve their disputes while others will avoid them. Using the Issue Correlates of War data, we fi nd support for our hypotheses. We conclude that the institutional and multilateral characteristics of negotiations indeed aff ect states’ confl ict resolution choices.
IGO RELATIONS IN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION REALM AND IN PROMOTING INTEGRITY IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
in Palgrave Handbook on Inter-Organizational Relations, edited by Rafael Biermann and Joachim Koops (Houndmills, UK: Palgrave, 2017), pp. 627-647.
This chapter focuses on relations among international governmental organizations (IGOs) involved in fighting corruption and promoting integrity in public procurement. It shows, first, why this topic is particularly relevant for understanding relations among IGOs. It then discusses the five approaches taken by approximately three dozen IGOs involved in the anti-corruption realm: adopting conventions, raising awareness, promoting domestic anti-corruption policies, investigating cases of corruption, and promoting integrity in public procurement. The chapter maps out the network of relations among IGOs combatting corruption. It concludes with a series of observations that are relevant for the broader study of relations among IGOs and offers some suggestions for future research on the topic.
THE ‘‘BROADENING’’ OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: THE CASES OF THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT AND RIGHT TO DEMOCRACY
with Emily Komp,
International Politics, 2017, 54 (2): 238–254.
Since the emergence of the international human rights regime, after the Second World War, governments appear to have moved toward accepting increasingly broad rights. The present study seeks to explain this important shift. It draws upon a theoretical framework focusing on actors’ strategic responses to normative pressures. We argue that government officials involved in normative bargaining over new human rights are more likely to adopt strategies of broadening norms than simply yielding, challenging or narrowing them. We seek to assess the plausibility of this argument by focusing on the history of the right to development and the right to democracy. We contrast the debates surrounding these rights in academic circles to those among practitioners, in the UN. We show how broadening strategies in the latter circles have led to the empowerment of these two rights and even to strong associations between them.
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL NORMS: THE CASE OF THE CIVILIAN PROTECTION AND ANTITERRORISM NORMS
with Sherri Replogle
Air and Space Power Journal, 7(4), 2016, pp. 44-73.
How do international norms become more or less powerful? The rich international relations (IR) literature on norms has emphasized the means by which both structural factors and agents contribute to altering norm strength. However, this literature has tended to emphasize the role of the so-called norms entrepreneurs who seek to empower new norms.1 It rarely addresses actors who wish to limit the effects of norms by altering their interpretation.
STATE PARTICIPATION IN THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS COUNCIL AND UN SECURITY COUNCIL: SUCCESSFUL VS. UNSUCCESSFUL REFORM EFFORTS
in Understanding Institutional Change in World Politics: Historical Institutionalism and International Relations edited by Thomas Rixen, Lora Viola and Michael Zürn (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), pp. 120-142.
This study explains the increases in the number of non-permanent members in the League of Nations Council and the United Nations Security Council over the past century. As some of the most significant international collective decisions (and among the few binding ones) are adopted in such forums, any increase in membership has been an important one because it has raised the costs that powerful states incurred when negotiating in these intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). Why did the powerful states allow this to happen? The chapter shows that existing IR approaches can, at best, identify the permissive conditions under which these reforms can take place in IGOs. They cannot however account for the variance in such changes. I draw upon Historical Institutionalism (HI), specifically on the literature discussing sequencing mechanisms, to explain such variance.
CONNECTING THE DOTS: DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ESCALATION IN A WORLD OF ENTANGLED TERRITORIALCLAIMS
with Molly Melin,
The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 58, No. 6 (September 2014), pp. 1085-1109
We explore states' decisions to escalate disputes over their territorial claims or settle them peacefully. We complement existing arguments by accounting for the fact that states are often simultaneously entangled in multiple territorial claims. We build on previous scholarship in positing that two states involved in a territorial dispute will act based on information they glean from each other's reputation for dealing with claims with other states and their recent actions involving disputes with other states. Because states know that their actions will impact their adversaries' calculations, the existence of multiple ongoing territorial claims will act as a deterrent from any type of action to resolve the dispute, whether militarized or peaceful. Our hypotheses therefore consider the impact of the number of states' other territorial claims as well as the number of their adversaries' claims. Tests using the Issue Correlates of War data support our
arguments.
ACTIVISM IN TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY: BALANCING EUROPEAN AND REGIONAL INTERESTS
with Gunes Tezcur
International Studies Perspectives (2013), 1–20.
This article argues that long-term changes in Turkish foreign policy are primarily due to the diversification of the country’s political and economic interests. Important international structural shifts such as the end of the Cold War or the broad fluctuations in oil prices have constituted the initial impetus for the changes that we have seen in Turkish policies. Discussing alternative perspectives on new activism in Turkish foreign policy, the article gauges Turkey’s foreign policy affinity (based on voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly) and trade with other states to place recent trends in the broader context of the past three decades. It shows that, as the “West” has become less coherent in its policies, Turkey moved closer to EU members and distanced itself from the U.S. The data also undermine “shift of axis” arguments as Turkey’s foreign policy affinity with Middle East countries has, in fact, declined. The trade data reveal a diversification of the country’s commercial interests that contribute to Turkey’s increasing regional activism. The country now balances its long term European interests with its recent regional ones.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR BUREAUCRATIC OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS: THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT, ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
In Routledge Handbook of International Organization edited by Bob Reinalda, (New York: Routledge, 2013), pp. 176-188
This study first explains three concepts that have been used to describe important developments related to bureaucratic oversight in IOs: democratic deficit, accountability and transparency. Although such concepts can refer to mechanisms and institutions that do not deal directly with bureaucratic oversight, recently they have been used primarily in this context. The chapter then discusses various types of bureaucratic oversight mechanisms. It offers several explanations of why oversight mechanisms emerged recently in so many IOs as well as explanations of the variance in their application across such organizations. The concluding section evaluates the challenges that lie ahead in implementing these mechanisms.
THE SPREAD OF BUREAUCRATIC OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS ACROSS INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
International Studies Quarterly (2010) 54, 871–886
The study asks why so many intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) have established recently offices and policies intended to facilitate the oversight of their bureaucracies. It begins from a set of hypotheses derived from the principal-agent (PA) literature, a natural starting point for answering this question. It then considers explanations based on norms and institutional diffusion to offer a more complete explanation of developments. The study argues that the empowerment of democratic norms and institutional diffusion processes across IGOs have altered member-states’ preferences and allowed them to overcome collective action problems involved in the adoption of oversight mechanisms. The hypotheses are tested across more than 70 organizations. The results suggest that arguments extracted from the PA literature and the one on norms allow us to understand which IGOs are more likely to have bureaucratic oversight mechanisms. On the other hand, models that also take into account diffusion processes allow us to understand better when such mechanisms are adopted.
INTERACTIONS AMONG INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION REALM
with Nathaniel Gest, Review of International Organizations, 5 (1), 2010, pp. 53-72.
This study focuses on interactions between intergovernmental organizations (IOs) working in the anti-corruption realm. It investigates the factors that enhance IO cooperation. Based on expectations derived primarily from the organization theory literature and, more specifically, from exchange theory, we develop a set of hypotheses regarding the relevance of IO financial resources, expertise, prestige, and bureaucratic culture on the likelihood that IOs will engage in cooperative behavior. The study tests these hypotheses on the formal and informal collaborative networks formed between seventeen IOs engaged in anti-corruption work. The results of the tests offer support for most of the hypotheses and suggest several additional arguments explaining the likelihood of inter-organizational collaboration.
HORIZONTAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Ethics & International Affairs, 22 (3), 2008, pp. 285-308.
In an era in which the number of global and regional problems requiring collective action has grown dramatically, intergovernmental organizations (IOs) have become increasingly important. Yet as they are called on to deal with a broadening array of issues, IOs are attracting closer scrutiny both of their capacities to address these new tasks and of their very legitimacy.
EAST AND CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND THE IRAQ WAR: THE CHOICE BETWEEN ‘‘SOFT BALANCING’’ AND ‘‘SOFT BANDWAGONING’’
Communist and Post-Communist Studies 41 (3), 2008, pp. 281-99.
This study argues that the new concept of ‘‘soft balancing’’ adds to our ability to explain the decisions of East and Central European countries to support the US in the Iraq War. Moreover, it suggests that by emphasizing soft rather than hard bandwagoning we gain a more subtle understanding of the degrees of support that countries offered the US. This approach reminds us that we should not only emphasize the similarities between the foreign policies of these countries but also their differences.
TRANSPARENCY OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: THE ROLES OF MEMBER STATES, INTERNATIONAL BUREAUCRACIES AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
International Studies Quarterly (2007) 51, 625–648
As intergovernmental organizations (IOs) have grown in number and influence, there has been an increase in calls for their accountability, not just to governments but also toward the general public. One of the principal ways they can improve their accountability is by becoming more transparent, that is, offering more information to the public. Over
the past decade, some IOs have adopted official policies and changed their practices concerning public access to information, while others have not. This study asks which IOs are likely to be transparent. To answer this question, it derives several hypotheses based on the existing international relations literature as well as the literature explaining government transparency in the domestic realm. The hypotheses focus on the roles of the principal actors affecting access-to-information from IOs: member states, IO bureaucracies and international nongovernmental organizations. This study tests these hypotheses across 72 IOs by using three newly developed measures of transparency. It finds that some of the main factors that explain IO transparency are analogous to those that have affected government transparency at the domestic level.
THE CORRUPTION ERUPTION IN EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE: THE INCREASED SALIENCE OF CORRUPTION AND THE ROLE OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
East European Politics and Societies 2006 20: 516
This article focuses on the increased salience of corruption in East-Central Europe. It shows that press coverage of the issue is much greater than in the past and also greater than in other regions with comparable or higher levels of corruption. This finding is relevant because anti-corruption rhetoric can have an important impact on political and economic developments, one that is partially independent of the actual levels of corruption. The study investigates several domestic and international factors that may have led to this development and finds that the role of intergovernmental organizations has been essential in bringing the issue to the forefront of public debates. Moreover, it shows that the European Union has recently been more effective in raising the salience of corruption in the region than other organizations. The article concludes with a discussion of the effect that EU membership
may have on future anticorruption rhetoric and policies.
MAPPING THE UN–LEAGUE OF NATIONS ANALOGY: ARE THERE STILL LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THE LEAGUE?
Global Governance 11 (2005), 25–42
In recent years, the United Nations–League of Nations analogy has been used in U.S. public discourse with increased frequency. A major implication of the analogy is that if the UN does not undergo substantive changes it will become as ineffective as its predecessor. This article asks if the example of the League of Nations can still offer important lessons for the future of the UN. It assesses the validity of the analogy by “mapping” the similarities and differences between the recent events involving Iraq and the events preceding World War II. It further compares the structures, principles, rules, norms, and decisionmaking procedures of the two organizations and argues that several apparently minor differences have allowed the UN to be more effective and survive much longer than its predecessor. The study
concludes that the analogy is not only inaccurate but also potentially damaging to the credibility of the UN and, implicitly, to the organization’s usefulness.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY: LINKING THE INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC REALMS
International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Dec., 2003), pp. 643-667
In recent years there has been an increased interest in political science in the concept of "transparency." The literature has emphasized the effects that government transparency can have, especially on democratic consolidation. Yet there has been very little research focusing on the causes of transparency. This study discusses some of the possible factors affecting government transparency and offers several aggregate tests of their relevance. It emphasizes the mechanisms through which governments adopt institutions supporting transparency in order to signal to their societies and to external actors that the information they offer is
indeed credible. It argues that such signals are more likely to be offered as the public receives increasing amounts of alternative information from international organizations. The discussion thus links processes taking place at the international level with those in the domestic realm.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAWS LESSONS FROM EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE
Problems of Post-Communism, vol. 50, no. 2, March/April 2003, pp. 34–43.
Totalitarian states are characterized by complete control over ideology, media, and all forms of information. In contrast, democracies are distinguished by “the continued responsiveness of the government to the preferences of its citizens.” Democratic governments are, or should be, responsive not only in election season but between elections, because they must allow the public to obtain information about governmental actions and intentions and offer mechanisms through which officials can be punished for ignoring their constituents. Increased access to official information leads to greater public trust in the government and the democratic political system, thereby implicitly increasing the survival odds of new democracies.
EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS AND UNSUCCESSFUL NORM TRANSMISSION: THE CASE OF TRANSPARENCY
International Politics 39: 467-489, December 2002
European institutions are seen as having a positive role in the processes of democratic consolidation in East and Central Europe through the transmission of democratic norms. But not all democratic norms appear to be promoted with equal success by international institutions. This study focuses on the unsuccessful transmission of the norm of transparency. I show how the EU, the Council of Europe, and NATO were unable to influence the adoption of legislation impacting the free flow of information. I argue that this lack of success was due to the nature of the norm and its lack of “resonance” with the foundational norms on these institutions.
TRANSFERRING TRANSPARENCY: THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS ON EAST AND CENTRAL EUROPE
in Ronald Linden ed., Norms and Nannies: The Impact of International Organizations on the Central and East European States. (Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002), pp. 59-87.
The chapter explains why there has been an impetus for the adoption of institutions supporting government transparency in East-Central Europe. It suggests that domestic norms may be becoming stronger but are still not powerful enough to explain the emergence of institutions of transparency. Furthermore, the usual explanations based on the role of “condition-setters” or of “norm exporters” of European international institutions, such as the EU and NATO, are also not convincing. It is argued here that the states of East-Central Europe have become more transparent because of interactions and processes of providing information demanded by international organizations. Thus, as these governments offer much sensitive information to international organizations, their cost-benefit calculations with regard to “domestic transparency” also changes, leading to the appearance of legislation designed to increase transparency.
THE EBB AND FLOW OF GLOBAL GOVERNANCE: INTERGOVERNMENTALISM VS. NONGOVERNMENTALISM IN WORLD POLITICS
Cambridge University Press, 2020
The book begins from the observation that the traditional dichotomous distinction between intergovernmental organizations and international nongovernmental organizations is flawed. In fact, I suggest that all international organizations (IOs) and, more broadly, global governance, fall on an intergovernmental-nongovernmental continuum. The book further shows that IOs and global governance have shifted many times back and forth across this continuum over the past century and a half. I develop a set of hypotheses to explain why such shifts take place. I consider multiple such explanations but focus primarily on the role played by the ideologies and institutions of the most powerful states. I assess the strength of these arguments by following developments in three important issue-areas since 1850: the global governance of health, labor and technical standards.
JOURNAL ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS
INTERGOVERNMENTALISM VS. NONGOVERNMENTALISM: PROJECTING DOMESTIC PREFERENCES TO GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
with Caglayan Baser,
World Politics, 2019, 71(1): 88-125
This article seeks to explain when governments are more likely to take an intergovernmental approach to resolving global collective problems rather than step back and encourage (or simply allow) nongovernmental actors to become the main global governors. The authors suggest that an important factor driving this choice is the domestic ideological leanings of powerful states toward greater or lesser government activism. Such ideologies connect domestic preferences to international ones. They also lead to the establishment of domestic institutions that, in turn, facilitate the emergence of international organizations. Using these arguments, the authors develop a set of inferences regarding the likelihood that governments will establish and join intergovernmental organizations. The authors test their hypotheses through a study of global governance in the education realm, and also apply a series of statistical analyses covering developments in all issue-areas over the last century and a half.
MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION
with Molly Melin,
Conflict Resolution Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 3, Spring 2017
States have a multitude of tools for territorial dispute resolution at their disposal ranging from direct bilateral negotiations to third-party states to international organizations ( IOs ). While the literature explores when states are more likely to accept a third party in their negotiations and when they are more likely to seek a resolution to their disputes bilaterally, we have little understanding of why states are more likely to seek IOs for such tasks. We examine the disputants that prefer certain confl ict managers, with a focus on the distinguishing characteristics of IO -led confl ict management. We derive a set of hypotheses based on our expectations that, due to the institutional and multilateral characteristics of IOs , certain states will turn to them to resolve their disputes while others will avoid them. Using the Issue Correlates of War data, we fi nd support for our hypotheses. We conclude that the institutional and multilateral characteristics of negotiations indeed aff ect states’ confl ict resolution choices.
IGO RELATIONS IN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION REALM AND IN PROMOTING INTEGRITY IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
in Palgrave Handbook on Inter-Organizational Relations, edited by Rafael Biermann and Joachim Koops (Houndmills, UK: Palgrave, 2017), pp. 627-647.
This chapter focuses on relations among international governmental organizations (IGOs) involved in fighting corruption and promoting integrity in public procurement. It shows, first, why this topic is particularly relevant for understanding relations among IGOs. It then discusses the five approaches taken by approximately three dozen IGOs involved in the anti-corruption realm: adopting conventions, raising awareness, promoting domestic anti-corruption policies, investigating cases of corruption, and promoting integrity in public procurement. The chapter maps out the network of relations among IGOs combatting corruption. It concludes with a series of observations that are relevant for the broader study of relations among IGOs and offers some suggestions for future research on the topic.
THE ‘‘BROADENING’’ OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: THE CASES OF THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT AND RIGHT TO DEMOCRACY
with Emily Komp,
International Politics, 2017, 54 (2): 238–254.
Since the emergence of the international human rights regime, after the Second World War, governments appear to have moved toward accepting increasingly broad rights. The present study seeks to explain this important shift. It draws upon a theoretical framework focusing on actors’ strategic responses to normative pressures. We argue that government officials involved in normative bargaining over new human rights are more likely to adopt strategies of broadening norms than simply yielding, challenging or narrowing them. We seek to assess the plausibility of this argument by focusing on the history of the right to development and the right to democracy. We contrast the debates surrounding these rights in academic circles to those among practitioners, in the UN. We show how broadening strategies in the latter circles have led to the empowerment of these two rights and even to strong associations between them.
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL NORMS: THE CASE OF THE CIVILIAN PROTECTION AND ANTITERRORISM NORMS
with Sherri Replogle
Air and Space Power Journal, 7(4), 2016, pp. 44-73.
How do international norms become more or less powerful? The rich international relations (IR) literature on norms has emphasized the means by which both structural factors and agents contribute to altering norm strength. However, this literature has tended to emphasize the role of the so-called norms entrepreneurs who seek to empower new norms.1 It rarely addresses actors who wish to limit the effects of norms by altering their interpretation.
STATE PARTICIPATION IN THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS COUNCIL AND UN SECURITY COUNCIL: SUCCESSFUL VS. UNSUCCESSFUL REFORM EFFORTS
in Understanding Institutional Change in World Politics: Historical Institutionalism and International Relations edited by Thomas Rixen, Lora Viola and Michael Zürn (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), pp. 120-142.
study explains the increases in the number of non-permanent members in the League of Nations Council and the United Nations Security Council over the past century. As some of the most significant international collective decisions (and among the few binding ones) are adopted in such forums, any increase in membership has been an important one because it has raised the costs that powerful states incurred when negotiating in these intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). Why did the powerful states allow this to happen? The chapter shows that existing IR approaches can, at best, identify the permissive conditions under which these reforms can take place in IGOs. They cannot however account for the variance in such changes. I draw upon Historical Institutionalism (HI), specifically on the literature discussing sequencing mechanisms, to explain such variance.
CONNECTING THE DOTS: DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ESCALATION IN A WORLD OF ENTANGLED TERRITORIALCLAIMS
with Molly Melin,
The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 58, No. 6 (September 2014), pp. 1085-1109
We explore states' decisions to escalate disputes over their territorial claims or settle them peacefully. We complement existing arguments by accounting for the fact that states are often simultaneously entangled in multiple territorial claims. We build on previous scholarship in positing that two states involved in a territorial dispute will act based on information they glean from each other's reputation for dealing with claims with other states and their recent actions involving disputes with other states. Because states know that their actions will impact their adversaries' calculations, the existence of multiple ongoing territorial claims will act as a deterrent from any type of action to resolve the dispute, whether militarized or peaceful. Our hypotheses therefore consider the impact of the number of states' other territorial claims as well as the number of their adversaries' claims. Tests using the Issue Correlates of War data support our
arguments.
ACTIVISM IN TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY: BALANCING EUROPEAN AND REGIONAL INTERESTS
with Gunes Tezcur
International Studies Perspectives (2013), 1–20.
This article argues that long-term changes in Turkish foreign policy are primarily due to the diversification of the country’s political and economic interests. Important international structural shifts such as the end of the Cold War or the broad fluctuations in oil prices have constituted the initial impetus for the changes that we have seen in Turkish policies. Discussing alternative perspectives on new activism in Turkish foreign policy, the article gauges Turkey’s foreign policy affinity (based on voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly) and trade with other states to place recent trends in the broader context of the past three decades. It shows that, as the “West” has become less coherent in its policies, Turkey moved closer to EU members and distanced itself from the U.S. The data also undermine “shift of axis” arguments as Turkey’s foreign policy affinity with Middle East countries has, in fact, declined. The trade data reveal a diversification of the country’s commercial interests that contribute to Turkey’s increasing regional activism. The country now balances its long term European interests with its recent regional ones.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR BUREAUCRATIC OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS: THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT, ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
In Routledge Handbook of International Organization edited by Bob Reinalda, (New York: Routledge, 2013), pp. 176-188
This study first explains three concepts that have been used to describe important developments related to bureaucratic oversight in IOs: democratic deficit, accountability and transparency. Although such concepts can refer to mechanisms and institutions that do not deal directly with bureaucratic oversight, recently they have been used primarily in this context. The chapter then discusses various types of bureaucratic oversight mechanisms. It offers several explanations of why oversight mechanisms emerged recently in so many IOs as well as explanations of the variance in their application across such organizations. The concluding section evaluates the challenges that lie ahead in implementing these mechanisms.
THE SPREAD OF BUREAUCRATIC OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS ACROSS INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
International Studies Quarterly (2010) 54, 871–886
The study asks why so many intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) have established recently offices and policies intended to facilitate the oversight of their bureaucracies. It begins from a set of hypotheses derived from the principal-agent (PA) literature, a natural starting point for answering this question. It then considers explanations based on norms and institutional diffusion to offer a more complete explanation of developments. The study argues that the empowerment of democratic norms and institutional diffusion processes across IGOs have altered member-states’ preferences and allowed them to overcome collective action problems involved in the adoption of oversight mechanisms. The hypotheses are tested across more than 70 organizations. The results suggest that arguments extracted from the PA literature and the one on norms allow us to understand which IGOs are more likely to have bureaucratic oversight mechanisms. On the other hand, models that also take into account diffusion processes allow us to understand better when such mechanisms are adopted.
INTERACTIONS AMONG INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION REALM
with Nathaniel Gest, Review of International Organizations, 5 (1), 2010, pp. 53-72.
This study focuses on interactions between intergovernmental organizations (IOs) working in the anti-corruption realm. It investigates the factors that enhance IO cooperation. Based on expectations derived primarily from the organization theory literature and, more specifically, from exchange theory, we develop a set of hypotheses regarding the relevance of IO financial resources, expertise, prestige, and bureaucratic culture on the likelihood that IOs will engage in cooperative behavior. The study tests these hypotheses on the formal and informal collaborative networks formed between seventeen IOs engaged in anti-corruption work. The results of the tests offer support for most of the hypotheses and suggest several additional arguments explaining the likelihood of inter-organizational collaboration.
HORIZONTAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Ethics & International Affairs, 22 (3), 2008, pp. 285-308.
In an era in which the number of global and regional problems requiring collective action has grown dramatically, intergovernmental organizations (IOs) have become increasingly important. Yet as they are called on to deal with a broadening array of issues, IOs are attracting closer scrutiny both of their capacities to address these new tasks and of their very legitimacy.
EAST AND CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND THE IRAQ WAR: THE CHOICE BETWEEN ‘‘SOFT BALANCING’’ AND ‘‘SOFT BANDWAGONING’’
Communist and Post-Communist Studies 41 (3), 2008, pp. 281-99.
This study argues that the new concept of ‘‘soft balancing’’ adds to our ability to explain the decisions of East and Central European countries to support the US in the Iraq War. Moreover, it suggests that by emphasizing soft rather than hard bandwagoning we gain a more subtle understanding of the degrees of support that countries offered the US. This approach reminds us that we should not only emphasize the similarities between the foreign policies of these countries but also their differences.
TRANSPARENCY OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: THE ROLES OF MEMBER STATES, INTERNATIONAL BUREAUCRACIES AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
International Studies Quarterly (2007) 51, 625–648
As intergovernmental organizations (IOs) have grown in number and influence, there has been an increase in calls for their accountability, not just to governments but also toward the general public. One of the principal ways they can improve their accountability is by becoming more transparent, that is, offering more information to the public. Over
the past decade, some IOs have adopted official policies and changed their practices concerning public access to information, while others have not. This study asks which IOs are likely to be transparent. To answer this question, it derives several hypotheses based on the existing international relations literature as well as the literature explaining government transparency in the domestic realm. The hypotheses focus on the roles of the principal actors affecting access-to-information from IOs: member states, IO bureaucracies and international nongovernmental organizations. This study tests these hypotheses across 72 IOs by using three newly developed measures of transparency. It finds that some of the main factors that explain IO transparency are analogous to those that have affected government transparency at the domestic level.
THE CORRUPTION ERUPTION IN EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE: THE INCREASED SALIENCE OF CORRUPTION AND THE ROLE OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
East European Politics and Societies 2006 20: 516
This article focuses on the increased salience of corruption in East-Central Europe. It shows that press coverage of the issue is much greater than in the past and also greater than in other regions with comparable or higher levels of corruption. This finding is relevant because anti-corruption rhetoric can have an important impact on political and economic developments, one that is partially independent of the actual levels of corruption. The study investigates several domestic and international factors that may have led to this development and finds that the role of intergovernmental organizations has been essential in bringing the issue to the forefront of public debates. Moreover, it shows that the European Union has recently been more effective in raising the salience of corruption in the region than other organizations. The article concludes with a discussion of the effect that EU membership
may have on future anticorruption rhetoric and policies.
MAPPING THE UN–LEAGUE OF NATIONS ANALOGY: ARE THERE STILL LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THE LEAGUE?
Global Governance 11 (2005), 25–42
In recent years, the United Nations–League of Nations analogy has been used in U.S. public discourse with increased frequency. A major implication of the analogy is that if the UN does not undergo substantive changes it will become as ineffective as its predecessor. This article asks if the example of the League of Nations can still offer important lessons for the future of the UN. It assesses the validity of the analogy by “mapping” the similarities and differences between the recent events involving Iraq and the events preceding World War II. It further compares the structures, principles, rules, norms, and decisionmaking procedures of the two organizations and argues that several apparently minor differences have allowed the UN to be more effective and survive much longer than its predecessor. The study
concludes that the analogy is not only inaccurate but also potentially damaging to the credibility of the UN and, implicitly, to the organization’s usefulness.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY: LINKING THE INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC REALMS
International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Dec., 2003), pp. 643-667
In recent years there has been an increased interest in political science in the concept of "transparency." The literature has emphasized the effects that government transparency can have, especially on democratic consolidation. Yet there has been very little research focusing on the causes of transparency. This study discusses some of the possible factors affecting government transparency and offers several aggregate tests of their relevance. It emphasizes the mechanisms through which governments adopt institutions supporting transparency in order to signal to their societies and to external actors that the information they offer is
indeed credible. It argues that such signals are more likely to be offered as the public receives increasing amounts of alternative information from international organizations. The discussion thus links processes taking place at the international level with those in the domestic realm.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAWS LESSONS FROM EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE
Problems of Post-Communism, vol. 50, no. 2, March/April 2003, pp. 34–43.
Totalitarian states are characterized by complete control over ideology, media, and all forms of information. In contrast, democracies are distinguished by “the continued responsiveness of the government to the preferences of its citizens.” Democratic governments are, or should be, responsive not only in election season but between elections, because they must allow the public to obtain information about governmental actions and intentions and offer mechanisms through which officials can be punished for ignoring their constituents. Increased access to official information leads to greater public trust in the government and the democratic political system, thereby implicitly increasing the survival odds of new democracies.
EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS AND UNSUCCESSFUL NORM TRANSMISSION: THE CASE OF TRANSPARENCY
International Politics 39: 467-489, December 2002
European institutions are seen as having a positive role in the processes of democratic consolidation in East and Central Europe through the transmission of democratic norms. But not all democratic norms appear to be promoted with equal success by international institutions. This study focuses on the unsuccessful transmission of the norm of transparency. I show how the EU, the Council of Europe, and NATO were unable to influence the adoption of legislation impacting the free flow of information. I argue that this lack of success was due to the nature of the norm and its lack of “resonance” with the foundational norms on these institutions.
TRANSFERRING TRANSPARENCY: THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS ON EAST AND CENTRAL EUROPE
in Ronald Linden ed., Norms and Nannies: The Impact of International Organizations on the Central and East European States. (Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002), pp. 59-87.
The chapter explains why there has been an impetus for the adoption of institutions supporting government transparency in East-Central Europe. It suggests that domestic norms may be becoming stronger but are still not powerful enough to explain the emergence of institutions of transparency. Furthermore, the usual explanations based on the role of “condition-setters” or of “norm exporters” of European international institutions, such as the EU and NATO, are also not convincing. It is argued here that the states of East-Central Europe have become more transparent because of interactions and processes of providing information demanded by international organizations. Thus, as these governments offer much sensitive information to international organizations, their cost-benefit calculations with regard to “domestic transparency” also changes, leading to the appearance of legislation designed to increase transparency.
DEMOCRATIC INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS? NORMATIVE PRESSURES AND DECISION-MAKING RULES
Cambridge University Press, 2015
This work posits that, over the past two centuries, democratic norms have spread from domestic politics to intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). Grigorescu explores how norms shaped IGO decision-making rules such as those driving state participation, voting, access to information, and the role of NGOs and transnational parliaments. The study emphasizes the role of 'normative pressures' (the interaction between norm strength and the degree to which the status quo strays from norm prescriptions). Using primary and secondary sources to assess the plausibility of its arguments across two centuries and two dozen IGOs, the study focuses on developments in the League of Nations, the International Labor Organization, the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Union, and the World Trade Organization.
JOURNAL ARTICLES AND BOOK CHAPTERS
INTERGOVERNMENTALISM VS. NONGOVERNMENTALISM: PROJECTING DOMESTIC PREFERENCES TO GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
with Caglayan Baser,
World Politics, 2019, 71(1): 88-125
This article seeks to explain when governments are more likely to take an intergovernmental approach to resolving global collective problems rather than step back and encourage (or simply allow) nongovernmental actors to become the main global governors. The authors suggest that an important factor driving this choice is the domestic ideological leanings of powerful states toward greater or lesser government activism. Such ideologies connect domestic preferences to international ones. They also lead to the establishment of domestic institutions that, in turn, facilitate the emergence of international organizations. Using these arguments, the authors develop a set of inferences regarding the likelihood that governments will establish and join intergovernmental organizations. The authors test their hypotheses through a study of global governance in the education realm, and also apply a series of statistical analyses covering developments in all issue-areas over the last century and a half.
MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION
with Molly Melin,
Conflict Resolution Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 3, Spring 2017
States have a multitude of tools for territorial dispute resolution at their disposal ranging from direct bilateral negotiations to third-party states to international organizations ( IOs ). While the literature explores when states are more likely to accept a third party in their negotiations and when they are more likely to seek a resolution to their disputes bilaterally, we have little understanding of why states are more likely to seek IOs for such tasks. We examine the disputants that prefer certain confl ict managers, with a focus on the distinguishing characteristics of IO -led confl ict management. We derive a set of hypotheses based on our expectations that, due to the institutional and multilateral characteristics of IOs , certain states will turn to them to resolve their disputes while others will avoid them. Using the Issue Correlates of War data, we fi nd support for our hypotheses. We conclude that the institutional and multilateral characteristics of negotiations indeed aff ect states’ confl ict resolution choices.
IGO RELATIONS IN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION REALM AND IN PROMOTING INTEGRITY IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
in Palgrave Handbook on Inter-Organizational Relations, edited by Rafael Biermann and Joachim Koops (Houndmills, UK: Palgrave, 2017), pp. 627-647.
This chapter focuses on relations among international governmental organizations (IGOs) involved in fighting corruption and promoting integrity in public procurement. It shows, first, why this topic is particularly relevant for understanding relations among IGOs. It then discusses the five approaches taken by approximately three dozen IGOs involved in the anti-corruption realm: adopting conventions, raising awareness, promoting domestic anti-corruption policies, investigating cases of corruption, and promoting integrity in public procurement. The chapter maps out the network of relations among IGOs combatting corruption. It concludes with a series of observations that are relevant for the broader study of relations among IGOs and offers some suggestions for future research on the topic.
THE ‘‘BROADENING’’ OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS: THE CASES OF THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT AND RIGHT TO DEMOCRACY
with Emily Komp,
International Politics, 2017, 54 (2): 238–254.
Since the emergence of the international human rights regime, after the Second World War, governments appear to have moved toward accepting increasingly broad rights. The present study seeks to explain this important shift. It draws upon a theoretical framework focusing on actors’ strategic responses to normative pressures. We argue that government officials involved in normative bargaining over new human rights are more likely to adopt strategies of broadening norms than simply yielding, challenging or narrowing them. We seek to assess the plausibility of this argument by focusing on the history of the right to development and the right to democracy. We contrast the debates surrounding these rights in academic circles to those among practitioners, in the UN. We show how broadening strategies in the latter circles have led to the empowerment of these two rights and even to strong associations between them.
INTERACTIONS BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL NORMS: THE CASE OF THE CIVILIAN PROTECTION AND ANTITERRORISM NORMS
with Sherri Replogle
Air and Space Power Journal, 7(4), 2016, pp. 44-73.
How do international norms become more or less powerful? The rich international relations (IR) literature on norms has emphasized the means by which both structural factors and agents contribute to altering norm strength. However, this literature has tended to emphasize the role of the so-called norms entrepreneurs who seek to empower new norms.1 It rarely addresses actors who wish to limit the effects of norms by altering their interpretation.
STATE PARTICIPATION IN THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS COUNCIL AND UN SECURITY COUNCIL: SUCCESSFUL VS. UNSUCCESSFUL REFORM EFFORTS
in Understanding Institutional Change in World Politics: Historical Institutionalism and International Relations edited by Thomas Rixen, Lora Viola and Michael Zürn (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), pp. 120-142.
study explains the increases in the number of non-permanent members in the League of Nations Council and the United Nations Security Council over the past century. As some of the most significant international collective decisions (and among the few binding ones) are adopted in such forums, any increase in membership has been an important one because it has raised the costs that powerful states incurred when negotiating in these intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). Why did the powerful states allow this to happen? The chapter shows that existing IR approaches can, at best, identify the permissive conditions under which these reforms can take place in IGOs. They cannot however account for the variance in such changes. I draw upon Historical Institutionalism (HI), specifically on the literature discussing sequencing mechanisms, to explain such variance.
CONNECTING THE DOTS: DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ESCALATION IN A WORLD OF ENTANGLED TERRITORIALCLAIMS
with Molly Melin,
The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 58, No. 6 (September 2014), pp. 1085-1109
We explore states' decisions to escalate disputes over their territorial claims or settle them peacefully. We complement existing arguments by accounting for the fact that states are often simultaneously entangled in multiple territorial claims. We build on previous scholarship in positing that two states involved in a territorial dispute will act based on information they glean from each other's reputation for dealing with claims with other states and their recent actions involving disputes with other states. Because states know that their actions will impact their adversaries' calculations, the existence of multiple ongoing territorial claims will act as a deterrent from any type of action to resolve the dispute, whether militarized or peaceful. Our hypotheses therefore consider the impact of the number of states' other territorial claims as well as the number of their adversaries' claims. Tests using the Issue Correlates of War data support our
arguments.
ACTIVISM IN TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY: BALANCING EUROPEAN AND REGIONAL INTERESTS
with Gunes Tezcur
International Studies Perspectives (2013), 1–20.
This article argues that long-term changes in Turkish foreign policy are primarily due to the diversification of the country’s political and economic interests. Important international structural shifts such as the end of the Cold War or the broad fluctuations in oil prices have constituted the initial impetus for the changes that we have seen in Turkish policies. Discussing alternative perspectives on new activism in Turkish foreign policy, the article gauges Turkey’s foreign policy affinity (based on voting patterns in the United Nations General Assembly) and trade with other states to place recent trends in the broader context of the past three decades. It shows that, as the “West” has become less coherent in its policies, Turkey moved closer to EU members and distanced itself from the U.S. The data also undermine “shift of axis” arguments as Turkey’s foreign policy affinity with Middle East countries has, in fact, declined. The trade data reveal a diversification of the country’s commercial interests that contribute to Turkey’s increasing regional activism. The country now balances its long term European interests with its recent regional ones.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND THEIR BUREAUCRATIC OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS: THE DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT, ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY
In Routledge Handbook of International Organization edited by Bob Reinalda, (New York: Routledge, 2013), pp. 176-188
This study first explains three concepts that have been used to describe important developments related to bureaucratic oversight in IOs: democratic deficit, accountability and transparency. Although such concepts can refer to mechanisms and institutions that do not deal directly with bureaucratic oversight, recently they have been used primarily in this context. The chapter then discusses various types of bureaucratic oversight mechanisms. It offers several explanations of why oversight mechanisms emerged recently in so many IOs as well as explanations of the variance in their application across such organizations. The concluding section evaluates the challenges that lie ahead in implementing these mechanisms.
THE SPREAD OF BUREAUCRATIC OVERSIGHT MECHANISMS ACROSS INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
International Studies Quarterly (2010) 54, 871–886
The study asks why so many intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) have established recently offices and policies intended to facilitate the oversight of their bureaucracies. It begins from a set of hypotheses derived from the principal-agent (PA) literature, a natural starting point for answering this question. It then considers explanations based on norms and institutional diffusion to offer a more complete explanation of developments. The study argues that the empowerment of democratic norms and institutional diffusion processes across IGOs have altered member-states’ preferences and allowed them to overcome collective action problems involved in the adoption of oversight mechanisms. The hypotheses are tested across more than 70 organizations. The results suggest that arguments extracted from the PA literature and the one on norms allow us to understand which IGOs are more likely to have bureaucratic oversight mechanisms. On the other hand, models that also take into account diffusion processes allow us to understand better when such mechanisms are adopted.
INTERACTIONS AMONG INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE ANTI-CORRUPTION REALM
with Nathaniel Gest, Review of International Organizations, 5 (1), 2010, pp. 53-72.
This study focuses on interactions between intergovernmental organizations (IOs) working in the anti-corruption realm. It investigates the factors that enhance IO cooperation. Based on expectations derived primarily from the organization theory literature and, more specifically, from exchange theory, we develop a set of hypotheses regarding the relevance of IO financial resources, expertise, prestige, and bureaucratic culture on the likelihood that IOs will engage in cooperative behavior. The study tests these hypotheses on the formal and informal collaborative networks formed between seventeen IOs engaged in anti-corruption work. The results of the tests offer support for most of the hypotheses and suggest several additional arguments explaining the likelihood of inter-organizational collaboration.
HORIZONTAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Ethics & International Affairs, 22 (3), 2008, pp. 285-308.
In an era in which the number of global and regional problems requiring collective action has grown dramatically, intergovernmental organizations (IOs) have become increasingly important. Yet as they are called on to deal with a broadening array of issues, IOs are attracting closer scrutiny both of their capacities to address these new tasks and of their very legitimacy.
EAST AND CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND THE IRAQ WAR: THE CHOICE BETWEEN ‘‘SOFT BALANCING’’ AND ‘‘SOFT BANDWAGONING’’
Communist and Post-Communist Studies 41 (3), 2008, pp. 281-99.
This study argues that the new concept of ‘‘soft balancing’’ adds to our ability to explain the decisions of East and Central European countries to support the US in the Iraq War. Moreover, it suggests that by emphasizing soft rather than hard bandwagoning we gain a more subtle understanding of the degrees of support that countries offered the US. This approach reminds us that we should not only emphasize the similarities between the foreign policies of these countries but also their differences.
TRANSPARENCY OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS: THE ROLES OF MEMBER STATES, INTERNATIONAL BUREAUCRACIES AND NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
International Studies Quarterly (2007) 51, 625–648
As intergovernmental organizations (IOs) have grown in number and influence, there has been an increase in calls for their accountability, not just to governments but also toward the general public. One of the principal ways they can improve their accountability is by becoming more transparent, that is, offering more information to the public. Over
the past decade, some IOs have adopted official policies and changed their practices concerning public access to information, while others have not. This study asks which IOs are likely to be transparent. To answer this question, it derives several hypotheses based on the existing international relations literature as well as the literature explaining government transparency in the domestic realm. The hypotheses focus on the roles of the principal actors affecting access-to-information from IOs: member states, IO bureaucracies and international nongovernmental organizations. This study tests these hypotheses across 72 IOs by using three newly developed measures of transparency. It finds that some of the main factors that explain IO transparency are analogous to those that have affected government transparency at the domestic level.
THE CORRUPTION ERUPTION IN EAST-CENTRAL EUROPE: THE INCREASED SALIENCE OF CORRUPTION AND THE ROLE OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
East European Politics and Societies 2006 20: 516
This article focuses on the increased salience of corruption in East-Central Europe. It shows that press coverage of the issue is much greater than in the past and also greater than in other regions with comparable or higher levels of corruption. This finding is relevant because anti-corruption rhetoric can have an important impact on political and economic developments, one that is partially independent of the actual levels of corruption. The study investigates several domestic and international factors that may have led to this development and finds that the role of intergovernmental organizations has been essential in bringing the issue to the forefront of public debates. Moreover, it shows that the European Union has recently been more effective in raising the salience of corruption in the region than other organizations. The article concludes with a discussion of the effect that EU membership
may have on future anticorruption rhetoric and policies.
MAPPING THE UN–LEAGUE OF NATIONS ANALOGY: ARE THERE STILL LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM THE LEAGUE?
Global Governance 11 (2005), 25–42
In recent years, the United Nations–League of Nations analogy has been used in U.S. public discourse with increased frequency. A major implication of the analogy is that if the UN does not undergo substantive changes it will become as ineffective as its predecessor. This article asks if the example of the League of Nations can still offer important lessons for the future of the UN. It assesses the validity of the analogy by “mapping” the similarities and differences between the recent events involving Iraq and the events preceding World War II. It further compares the structures, principles, rules, norms, and decisionmaking procedures of the two organizations and argues that several apparently minor differences have allowed the UN to be more effective and survive much longer than its predecessor. The study
concludes that the analogy is not only inaccurate but also potentially damaging to the credibility of the UN and, implicitly, to the organization’s usefulness.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY: LINKING THE INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC REALMS
International Studies Quarterly, Vol. 47, No. 4 (Dec., 2003), pp. 643-667
In recent years there has been an increased interest in political science in the concept of "transparency." The literature has emphasized the effects that government transparency can have, especially on democratic consolidation. Yet there has been very little research focusing on the causes of transparency. This study discusses some of the possible factors affecting government transparency and offers several aggregate tests of their relevance. It emphasizes the mechanisms through which governments adopt institutions supporting transparency in order to signal to their societies and to external actors that the information they offer is
indeed credible. It argues that such signals are more likely to be offered as the public receives increasing amounts of alternative information from international organizations. The discussion thus links processes taking place at the international level with those in the domestic realm.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAWS LESSONS FROM EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE
Problems of Post-Communism, vol. 50, no. 2, March/April 2003, pp. 34–43.
Totalitarian states are characterized by complete control over ideology, media, and all forms of information. In contrast, democracies are distinguished by “the continued responsiveness of the government to the preferences of its citizens.” Democratic governments are, or should be, responsive not only in election season but between elections, because they must allow the public to obtain information about governmental actions and intentions and offer mechanisms through which officials can be punished for ignoring their constituents. Increased access to official information leads to greater public trust in the government and the democratic political system, thereby implicitly increasing the survival odds of new democracies.
EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS AND UNSUCCESSFUL NORM TRANSMISSION: THE CASE OF TRANSPARENCY
International Politics 39: 467-489, December 2002
European institutions are seen as having a positive role in the processes of democratic consolidation in East and Central Europe through the transmission of democratic norms. But not all democratic norms appear to be promoted with equal success by international institutions. This study focuses on the unsuccessful transmission of the norm of transparency. I show how the EU, the Council of Europe, and NATO were unable to influence the adoption of legislation impacting the free flow of information. I argue that this lack of success was due to the nature of the norm and its lack of “resonance” with the foundational norms on these institutions.
TRANSFERRING TRANSPARENCY: THE IMPACT OF EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS ON EAST AND CENTRAL EUROPE
in Ronald Linden ed., Norms and Nannies: The Impact of International Organizations on the Central and East European States. (Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002), pp. 59-87.
The chapter explains why there has been an impetus for the adoption of institutions supporting government transparency in East-Central Europe. It suggests that domestic norms may be becoming stronger but are still not powerful enough to explain the emergence of institutions of transparency. Furthermore, the usual explanations based on the role of “condition-setters” or of “norm exporters” of European international institutions, such as the EU and NATO, are also not convincing. It is argued here that the states of East-Central Europe have become more transparent because of interactions and processes of providing information demanded by international organizations. Thus, as these governments offer much sensitive information to international organizations, their cost-benefit calculations with regard to “domestic transparency” also changes, leading to the appearance of legislation designed to increase transparency.