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International Organizations and the Management of Regime Complexity: Disregard, Confrontation, Coordination, and Cooperation

Online ISBN:
9780198953227
Print ISBN:
9780198953197
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

International Organizations and the Management of Regime Complexity: Disregard, Confrontation, Coordination, and Cooperation

Diana Panke,
Diana Panke

Professor of International Relations

Freie Universität Berlin
,
Germany
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Sören Stapel
Sören Stapel

Senior Lecturer

Freie Universität Berlin
,
Germany
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Published online:
15 April 2025
Published in print:
15 May 2025
Online ISBN:
9780198953227
Print ISBN:
9780198953197
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

Regime complexity, which is characterized by overlap between international organizations (IOs) concerning both policy competencies and member states, has been increasing over time. It is a defining feature of today’s international system. As the regime complexity literature points out, overlaps between IOs carry potential negative effects, such as duplicated efforts or incompatible norms. This book argues that IOs can actively manage regime complexity and potentially avoid negative side-effects or even create positive benefits. Yet, overlapping IOs differ in how they react. To explain under what conditions IOs disregard overlaps or manage them by resorting to confrontation or collaboration, this book addresses the following research questions. Why do organizations differ in their responses to overlaps? Why do some opt for disregard while others choose confrontation or engage in collaboration? These questions are answered by studying a subset of IOs, namely regional international organizations (RIOs), which recruit their member states on the basis of geographic criteria. It introduces a novel theoretical selection model on three junctures: saliency, ideological fit, and contextual uncertainties. This model captures whether overlapping RIOs disregard one another and do not actively manage regional regime complexity (low saliency), when they choose confrontation (high saliency but low ideological fit) and when they opt for one of two ways to engage in collaboration, namely coordination (high saliency, high ideological fit, limited contextual uncertainty) or cooperation (high saliency, high ideological fit, high contextual uncertainty). The corresponding hypotheses are comprehensively analysed in qualitative case studies from Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

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