Welcome

International organisations are currently under pressure. The World Health Organization was heavily criticized over its handling of COVID. The World Trade Organization seemed incapable of mitigating an American-Chinese trade war. The United States quit UNESCO in 2018 and The United Kingdom the EU in 2020. The ultimate way for states to show that international organisations have outlived their purpose is to disband them. This happens frequently: almost 40% of the international organisations created since 1815 have formally ceased to exist.

This large research project seeks to complete the theory on the ‘life and death of international organisations’. We know how international organisations are designed and develop over time. Yet we know virtually nothing about decline and death. The project therefore addresses the question why do international organisations decline or die? The main hypothesis is that some international organisations live longer due to their institutional characteristics. Through a mixed-methods research approach, this project aims to develop an institutional theory on the final stage in the life of international organisations.

Forthcoming and new articles

Maria Debre and Hylke Dijkstra (2023). Are International Organizations in Decline? An Absolute and Relative Perspective on Institutional Change. Global Policy, forthcoming.

Hylke Dijkstra, Laura von Allwoerden, Leonard Schuette and Giuseppe Zaccaria (2023). Donald Trump and the survival strategies of international organizations: When can institutional actors counter existential challenges?. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, forthcoming.

Hylke Dijkstra and Maria Debre (2022). The death of major international organizations: When institutional stickiness is not enough. Global Studies Quarterly, 2(4), 1-13.

Giuseppe Zaccaria (2022). You’re fired! International courts, re-contracting, and the WTO Appellate Body during the Trump presidency. Global Policy, 13(3), 322-333.

Leonard Schuette (2021). Why NATO survived Trump: The neglected role of Secretary General Stoltenberg. International Affairs, 97(6), 1863–1881. (Blog post)

Recent working papers

Leonard Schuette and Hylke Dijkstra (2022). The crisis of multilateralism and Europe’s support for a rules-based global order. European Union Studies Association, Miami, 19-21 May.

Laura von Allwoerden (2021). Counter-effect of the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement: Manifesting the UNFCCC’s legitimacy. ECPR Joint Sessions, 17-28 May.

Giuseppe Zaccaria (2021). International bureaucracies, institutional leadership, and the crises of the global order: The case of the WTO. ECPR Joint Sessions, 17-28 May.