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Explaining the Transnational Design of International Organizations

Author

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  • Tallberg, Jonas
  • Sommerer, Thomas
  • Squatrito, Theresa
  • Jönsson, Christer

Abstract

Past decades have witnessed a shift in international cooperation toward growing involvement of transnational actors (TNAs), such as nongovernmental organizations, multinational corporations, and philanthropic foundations. This article offers a comprehensive theoretical and empirical account of TNA access to IOs. The analysis builds on a novel data set, covering formal TNA access to 298 organizational bodies from fifty IOs over the time period 1950 to 2010. We identify the most profound patterns in TNA access across time, issue areas, policy functions, and world regions, and statistically test competing explanations of the variation in TNA access. The central results are three-fold. First, the empirical data confirm the existence of a far-reaching institutional transformation of IOs over the past sixty years, pervading all issue areas, policy functions, and world regions. Second, variation in TNA access within and across IOs is mainly explained by a combination of three factors: functional demand for the resources of TNAs, domestic democratic standards in the membership of IOs, and state concerns with national sovereignty. Third, existing research suffers from a selection bias that has led it to overestimate the general importance of a new participatory norm in global governance for the openness of IOs.

Suggested Citation

  • Tallberg, Jonas & Sommerer, Thomas & Squatrito, Theresa & Jönsson, Christer, 2014. "Explaining the Transnational Design of International Organizations," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 68(4), pages 741-774, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:intorg:v:68:y:2014:i:04:p:741-774_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Marcel Hanegraaff & Arlo Poletti, 2021. "It's economic size, stupid! How global advocacy mirrors state power," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 1326-1349, October.
    2. Cupać, Jelena & Ebetürk, Irem, 2022. "Competitive mimicry: The socialization of antifeminist NGOs into the United Nations," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11(3), pages 379-400.
    3. Tobias Lenz & Besir Ceka & Liesbet Hooghe & Gary Marks & Alexandr Burilkov, 2023. "Discovering cooperation: Endogenous change in international organizations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 631-666, October.
    4. Thomas Sommerer & Theresa Squatrito & Jonas Tallberg & Magnus Lundgren, 2022. "Decision-making in international organizations: institutional design and performance," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 815-845, October.
    5. Thomas Bernauer & Steffen Mohrenberg & Vally Koubi, 2020. "Do citizens evaluate international cooperation based on information about procedural and outcome quality?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 505-529, April.
    6. Myriam Oehri, 2017. "Civil Society Activism under US Free Trade Agreements: The Effects of Actorness on Decent Work," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(4), pages 40-48.
    7. Philip Schleifer & Matteo Fiorini & Graeme Auld, 2017. "Transparency in Transnational Sustainability Governance: A Multivariate Analysis of Regulatory Standard-Setting Programs," RSCAS Working Papers 2017/16, European University Institute.
    8. David Held & Robert Schütze & Daniele Archibugi & Marco Cellini, 2017. "The Internal and External Levers to Achieve Global Democracy," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 8(s6), pages 65-77, October.
    9. Dirk De Bièvre & Emile van Ommeren, 2021. "Multilateralism, Bilateralism and Institutional Choice: The Political Economy of Regime Complexes in International Trade Policy," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(S4), pages 14-24, May.
    10. 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.
    11. Matthias Ecker-Ehrhardt, 2018. "Self-legitimation in the face of politicization: Why international organizations centralized public communication," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 13(4), pages 519-546, December.
    12. Mintao Nie, 2023. "IOs’ selective adoption of NGO information: Evidence from the Universal Periodic Review," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 27-59, January.
    13. 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.
    14. Philip Schleifer & Matteo Fiorini & Graeme Auld, 2019. "Transparency in transnational governance: The determinants of information disclosure of voluntary sustainability programs," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(4), pages 488-506, December.
    15. Klaus H. Goetz & Ronny Patz & Erin R. Graham, 2017. "Follow the Money: How Trends in Financing Are Changing Governance at International Organizations," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 8(s5), pages 15-25, August.
    16. Axel Dreher & Katharina Michaelowa, 2008. "The political economy of international organizations," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 3(4), pages 331-334, December.
    17. repec:bla:glopol:v:8:y:2017:i::p:15-25 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. 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.
    19. Jan Beyers & Marcel Hanegraaff, 2017. "Balancing friends and foes: Explaining advocacy styles at global diplomatic conferences," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 12(3), pages 461-484, September.
    20. Natalia Aguilar Delgado & Paola Perez-Aleman, 2021. "Inclusion in Global Environmental Governance: Sustained Access, Engagement and Influence in Decisive Spaces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-24, September.
    21. Lang, Valentin, 2016. "The Economics of the Democratic Deficit: The Effect of IMF Programs on Inequality," Working Papers 0617, University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics.
    22. repec:bla:glopol:v:8:y:2017:i::p:65-77 is not listed on IDEAS
    23. Jonas Tallberg & Michael Zürn, 2019. "The legitimacy and legitimation of international organizations: introduction and framework," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 581-606, December.
    24. Michal Parízek, 2017. "Control, soft information, and the politics of international organizations staffing," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 12(4), pages 559-583, December.

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