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.

New publications

Hylke Dijkstra, Laura von Allwörden, Leonard Schuette and Giuseppe Zaccaria (2025). The Survival of International Organizations: Institutional Responses to Existential Challenges. Oxford University Press

Laura von Allwörden (2026). The Powerful Norm for Climate Change Action: How International Organizations Legitimate Themselves amid Contestation. Bristol University Press.

Hylke Dijkstra and Maria J. Debre (2026). The death of major international organizations: causes and consequences. In The Life Cycle of International Cooperation edited by Julia Gray. University of Michigan Press.