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Measuring institutional overlap in global governance

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  • Yoram Z. Haftel

    (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

  • Tobias Lenz

    (Leuphana University Lüneburg)

Abstract

Over the past decade, an increasingly sophisticated literature has sought to capture the nature, sources, and consequences of a novel empirical phenomenon in world politics: the growing complexity of global governance. However, this literature has paid only limited attention to questions of measurement, which is a prerequisite for a more comprehensive understanding of global governance complexity across space and time. In taking a first step in this direction, we make two contributions in the article. First, we propose new quantitative measures that gauge the extent of complexity in global governance, which we conceptualize as the degree to which global governance institutions overlap. Dyadic, weighted, directed-dyadic, and monadic measures enable a multifaceted understanding of this important development in world politics. Second, we illustrate these measures by applying them to an updated version of the most comprehensive data set on the design of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs): the Measure of International Authority (MIA). This allows us to identify cross-sectional and temporal patterns in the extent to which important IGOs, which tend to form the core of sprawling regime complexes in many issue areas, overlap. We conclude by outlining notable implications for, and potential applications of, our measures for research on institutional design and evolution, legitimacy, and legitimation, as well as effectiveness and performance. This discussion underscores the utility of the proposed measures, as both dependent and independent variables, to researchers examining the sources and consequences of institutional overlap in global governance and beyond.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:revint:v:17:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s11558-021-09415-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s11558-021-09415-3
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    Cited by:

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    2. Henning Schmidtke & Tobias Lenz, 2024. "Expanding or defending legitimacy? Why international organizations intensify self-legitimation," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 753-784, October.
    3. Yoram Z. Haftel & Bar Nadel, 2024. "Economic crises and the survival of international organizations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 665-690, October.
    4. Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni & Oliver Westerwinter, 2022. "The global governance complexity cube: Varieties of institutional complexity in global governance," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 233-262, April.
    5. Diana Panke & Sören Stapel, 2023. "Overlapping regionalism around the world: Introducing the overlapping regionalism dataset," International Area Studies Review, Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, vol. 26(4), pages 449-463, December.
    6. Andrew Lugg, 2024. "Re-contracting intergovernmental organizations: Membership change and the creation of linked intergovernmental organizations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 545-577, September.

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