IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/joupea/v58y2021i4p859-869.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cooperation under autonomy: Building and analyzing the Informal Intergovernmental Organizations 2.0 dataset

Author

Listed:
  • Felicity Vabulas

    (International Studies, 5262Pepperdine University)

  • Duncan Snidal

    (Politics and International Relations, 6396University of Oxford)

Abstract

Informal intergovernmental organizations (IIGOs) such as the Proliferation Security Initiative and G20 increasingly play a central role in governing international relations. IIGOs are based on recurrent meetings among high-level state representatives but are not legalized through a treaty and have no permanent secretariat . They allow states to organize internationally without sacrificing autonomy to a supranational entity. We present the IIGO 2.0 dataset, the most comprehensive compilation of these institutions to date, and illustrate the significance of IIGOs through several key empirical findings. First, while the creation of formal IGOs (FIGOs) has plateaued, states are increasingly creating IIGOs to address critical global issues. Second, states disproportionately use IIGOs for high politics issue areas including peace, security, and political agenda-setting which challenges conventional wisdom that IGOs (intergovernmental organizations) are less relevant in the security realm. Third, IIGOs are remarkably durable. Although states could readily formalize or abandon IIGOs, they generally organize cooperation informally for long periods. Finally, IIGOs are typically smaller than FIGOs and this design choice is increasingly used by states of all levels of development, power, and region. The availability of the IIGO 2.0 dataset will promote further analysis on the growing diversity of international institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Felicity Vabulas & Duncan Snidal, 2021. "Cooperation under autonomy: Building and analyzing the Informal Intergovernmental Organizations 2.0 dataset," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 58(4), pages 859-869, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:joupea:v:58:y:2021:i:4:p:859-869
    DOI: 10.1177/0022343320943920
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0022343320943920
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0022343320943920?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jon CW Pevehouse & Timothy Nordstrom & Roseanne W McManus & Anne Spencer Jamison, 2020. "Tracking organizations in the world: The Correlates of War IGO Version 3.0 datasets," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 57(3), pages 492-503, May.
    2. Felicity Vabulas & Duncan Snidal, 2013. "Organization without delegation: Informal intergovernmental organizations (IIGOs) and the spectrum of intergovernmental arrangements," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 193-220, June.
    3. Wallace, Michael & Singer, J. David, 1970. "Intergovernmental Organization in the Global System, 1815–1964:A Quantitative Description," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(2), pages 239-287, April.
    4. Brett Leeds & Jeffrey Ritter & Sara Mitchell & Andrew Long, 2002. "Alliance Treaty Obligations and Provisions, 1815-1944," International Interactions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 237-260, July.
    5. Julia Morse & Robert Keohane, 2014. "Contested multilateralism," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 385-412, December.
    6. Roland Vaubel, 2006. "Principal-agent problems in international organizations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 125-138, June.
    7. Abbott, Kenneth W. & Snidal, Duncan, 2000. "Hard and Soft Law in International Governance," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 421-456, July.
    8. Carnegie, Allison & Carson, Austin, 2018. "The Spotlight's Harsh Glare: Rethinking Publicity and International Order," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(3), pages 627-657, July.
    9. Lipson, Charles, 1991. "Why are some international agreements informal?," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(4), pages 495-538, October.
    10. Koremenos, Barbara & Lipson, Charles & Snidal, Duncan, 2001. "The Rational Design of International Institutions," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 55(4), pages 761-799, October.
    11. Prantl, Jochen, 2005. "Informal Groups of States and the UN Security Council," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(3), pages 559-592, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Andrew F. Cooper & Brendon J. Cannon, 2024. "Contested informality in regional institutional design: A comparative analysis of ASEAN and the Quad," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 15(1), pages 40-52, February.
    2. Felicity Vabulas, 2023. "Ranjit Lall. 2023. Making International Institutions Work: The Politics of Performance. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 783-787, October.
    3. Charles Roger & Sam Rowan, 2023. "The New Terrain of Global Governance: Mapping Membership in Informal International Organizations," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 67(6), pages 1248-1269, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Charles B. Roger & Sam S. Rowan, 2022. "Analyzing international organizations: How the concepts we use affect the answers we get," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 597-625, July.
    2. Oliver Westerwinter & Kenneth W. Abbott & Thomas Biersteker, 2021. "Informal governance in world politics," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 1-27, January.
    3. Melissa Carlson & Barbara Koremenos, 2021. "Cooperation Failure or Secret Collusion? Absolute Monarchs and Informal Cooperation," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 95-135, January.
    4. Bernhard Reinsberg & Oliver Westerwinter, 2021. "The global governance of international development: Documenting the rise of multi-stakeholder partnerships and identifying underlying theoretical explanations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 59-94, January.
    5. Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, 2020. "Death of international organizations. The organizational ecology of intergovernmental organizations, 1815–2015," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 339-370, April.
    6. Felicity Vabulas & Duncan Snidal, 2013. "Organization without delegation: Informal intergovernmental organizations (IIGOs) and the spectrum of intergovernmental arrangements," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 193-220, June.
    7. Adela Toscano-Valle & Antonio Sianes & Francisco Santos-Carrillo & Luis A. Fernández-Portillo, 2022. "Can the Rational Design of International Institutions Solve Cooperation Problems? Insights from a Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-22, June.
    8. Oliver Westerwinter, 2015. "Joost Pauwelyn, Ramses A. Wessel and Jan Wouters (Eds.). 2012. Informal international lawmaking. (Oxford: Oxford University Press)," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 97-101, March.
    9. Maria J. Debre & Hylke Dijkstra, 2023. "Are international organisations in decline? An absolute and relative perspective on institutional change," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(1), pages 16-30, February.
    10. Yoram Z. Haftel & Alexander Thompson, 2006. "The Independence of International Organizations," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 50(2), pages 253-275, April.
    11. Yoram Z. Haftel & Tobias Lenz, 2022. "Measuring institutional overlap in global governance," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 323-347, April.
    12. Jon CW Pevehouse & Timothy Nordstrom & Roseanne W McManus & Anne Spencer Jamison, 2020. "Tracking organizations in the world: The Correlates of War IGO Version 3.0 datasets," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 57(3), pages 492-503, May.
    13. Mareike Kleine, 2013. "Knowing your limits: Informal governance and judgment in the EU," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 245-264, June.
    14. Thomas Bernauer & Anna Kalbhenn & Vally Koubi & Gabriele Spilker, 2013. "Is there a “Depth versus Participation” dilemma in international cooperation?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(4), pages 477-497, December.
    15. Christopher Marcoux & Johannes Urpelainen, 2013. "Non-compliance by design: Moribund hard law in international institutions," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 163-191, June.
    16. Inken Borzyskowski & Felicity Vabulas, 2019. "Hello, goodbye: When do states withdraw from international organizations?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 335-366, June.
    17. Matias E. Margulis, 2021. "Intervention by international organizations in regime complexes," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 871-902, October.
    18. Oliver Westerwinter, 2017. "Barbara Koremenos. 2016. The continent of international law. Explaining agreement design. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 647-651, December.
    19. Barbara Koremenos, 2013. "What’s left out and why? Informal provisions in formal international law," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 137-162, June.
    20. Henning Schmidtke, 2019. "Elite legitimation and delegitimation of international organizations in the media: Patterns and explanations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 633-659, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:joupea:v:58:y:2021:i:4:p:859-869. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.prio.no/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.