IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/108663.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

International institutions in hard times: how institutional complexity increases resilience

Author

Listed:
  • Faude, Benjamin

Abstract

This paper asks how institutional complexity affects the resilience of global governance. By drawing on sociological differentiation theory, it interprets growing levels of institutional complexity as a process of institutional differentiation which allows the “political system of world society” to mirror the increasing complexity of its social environment. More precisely, the paper suggests that growing levels of institutional complexity enhance the resilience of global governance by providing states with a more diverse set of governance tools and by making backup governance tools available. Against this backdrop, it makes two interrelated contributions to the literature on global governance. First, by applying the concept of resilience to global governance, the paper provides the conceptual basis for a novel research agenda on the ability of contemporary global governance to operate under stress. So far, the analytical toolbox of global governance researchers does not contain a concept that enables a theory-driven analysis of international institutions’ ability to facilitate cooperation when confronted with high levels of stress. Second, it offers a sense of how the central structural feature of contemporary global governance—institutional complexity—affects its resilience. With these two interrelated contributions, the paper seeks to start a scholarly conversation on the resilience of contemporary global governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Faude, Benjamin, 2020. "International institutions in hard times: how institutional complexity increases resilience," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108663, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:108663
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/108663/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pratt, Tyler, 2018. "Deference and Hierarchy in International Regime Complexes," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(3), pages 561-590, July.
    2. Stéphanie C. Hofmann, 2011. "Why Institutional Overlap Matters: CSDP in the European Security Architecture," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1), pages 101-120, January.
    3. Thomas Gehring & Benjamin Faude, 2014. "A theory of emerging order within institutional complexes: How competition among regulatory international institutions leads to institutional adaptation and division of labor," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 471-498, December.
    4. Henning, C. Randall, 2017. "Tangled Governance: International Regime Complexity, the Troika, and the Euro Crisis," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198801801.
    5. Pratt, Tyler, 2018. "Deference and Hierarchy in International Regime Complexes—ERRATUM," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(3), pages 761-762, July.
    6. Michael Zürn & Benjamin Faude, 2013. "Commentary: On Fragmentation, Differentiation, and Coordination," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 13(3), pages 119-130, August.
    7. 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.
    8. Zürn, Michael & Buzan, Barry & Albert, Mathias, 2013. "Conclusion: differentiation theory and world politics," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, pages 228-245.
    9. Paul Collier, 2006. "Why the WTO is Deadlocked: And What Can Be Done About It," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(10), pages 1423-1449, October.
    10. Paul Dragos Aligica & Vlad Tarko, 2014. "Institutional Resilience and Economic Systems: Lessons from Elinor Ostrom’s Work," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 56(1), pages 52-76, March.
    11. Paul F. Steinberg, 2009. "Institutional Resilience Amid Political Change: The Case of Biodiversity Conservation," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 9(3), pages 61-81, August.
    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. Kenneth W. Abbott & Benjamin Faude, 2022. "Hybrid institutional complexes in global governance," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 263-291, April.
    2. Abbott, Kenneth W. & Faude, Benjamin, 2022. "Hybrid institutional complexes in global governance," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 109882, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    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. Fuß, Julia & Kreuder-Sonnen, Christian & Saravia, Andrés & Zürn, Michael, 2021. "Managing regime complexity: Introducing the interface conflicts 1.0 dataset," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Global Governance SP IV 2021-101, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Matias E. Margulis, 2021. "Intervention by international organizations in regime complexes," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 871-902, October.
    6. Bernhard Reinsberg & Oliver Westerwinter, 2023. "Institutional Overlap in Global Governance and the Design of Intergovernmental Organizations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 693-724, October.
    7. Susanne Lütz, 2021. "Global–Regional Realignments in Trade, Finance and Development: Introduction to the Special Issue," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(S4), pages 5-13, May.
    8. Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, 2022. "Ordering global governance complexes: The evolution of the governance complex for international civil aviation," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 293-322, April.
    9. 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.
    10. Benjamin Faude, 2020. "Breaking Gridlock: How Path Dependent Layering Enhances Resilience in Global Trade Governance," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 11(4), pages 448-457, September.
    11. Lucia Quaglia & Aneta Spendzharova, 2022. "Regime complexity and managing financial data streams: The orchestration of trade reporting for derivatives," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(2), pages 588-602, April.
    12. Karen J. Alter, 2022. "The promise and perils of theorizing international regime complexity in an evolving world," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 375-396, April.
    13. Sunn Bush, Sarah & Cottiero, Christina & Prather, Lauren, 2024. "Zombies Ahead: Explaining the Rise of Low-Quality Election Monitoring," Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Working Paper Series qt2fc2d3pr, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, University of California.
    14. Kenneth W. Abbott & Benjamin Faude, 2022. "Hybrid institutional complexes in global governance," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 263-291, April.
    15. Ramona Țigănașu & Sorin Mazilu, 2019. "EU’s Governments Responsiveness in Inducing Efficiency and Innovation," Ovidius University Annals, Economic Sciences Series, Ovidius University of Constantza, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 0(2), pages 189-198, December.
    16. Reischl, Gunilla, 2012. "Designing institutions for governing planetary boundaries — Lessons from global forest governance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 33-40.
    17. Eugenia C. Heldt & Thomas Dörfler, 2022. "Orchestrating private investors for development: How the World Bank revitalizes," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 1382-1398, October.
    18. Stephen, Matthew D. & Parízek, Michal, 2019. "New Powers and the Distribution of Preferences in Global Trade Governance: From Deadlock and Drift to Fragmentation," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 24(6), pages 735-758.
    19. Thomas Gehring & Benjamin Faude, 2014. "A theory of emerging order within institutional complexes: How competition among regulatory international institutions leads to institutional adaptation and division of labor," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 471-498, December.
    20. William N. Kring & William W. Grimes, 2019. "Leaving the Nest: The Rise of Regional Financial Arrangements and the Future of Global Governance," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 50(1), pages 72-95, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    international institutions; institutional complexity; resilience; sociological differentiation theory;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ehl:lserod:108663. 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: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    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.