Gradual Change in International Organisations: Agency Theory and Historical Institutionalism

Hanrieder, Tine

doi:10.1111/1467-9256.12050

Cited by 42 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(42 reference statements)

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“…Informal IOE , by contrast, occurs when new tasks are added to an IO's portfolio, when the issue areas in which IO tasks are performed are extended, and when staff and financial capabilities increase without changing the formal delegation contract. In contrast to formal reform, informal IOE takes the form of more incremental and subtle changes in the interpretation and application of an IO's formal mandate both by member states and international bureaucrats (see also Hanrieder, ). These processes come either in the form of drift, defined as the changing impact of rules due to shifts in the environment, or through conversion, that is, a change in how existing rules are interpreted and implemented (Mahoney and Thelen, , p. 16).…”

Section: Conceptualizing Ioementioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring the Empowerment of International Organizations: The Evolution of Financial and Staff Capabilities

Heldt

Schmidtke

2017

Global Policy

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International organizations’ (IOs) power in shaping global governance outcomes is not only determined by the formal delegation of tasks and issue areas but also by the necessary capabilities to fulfill these tasks. Yet, extant research on the delegation of power to IOs gives few insights into the financial and staff capabilities of IOs and focuses mainly on the formal rules that specify IOs’ tasks and issue scope. To address these limitations, this paper makes three contributions. First, we propose a more encompassing concept of IO power which incorporates three principal components: tasks, issue scope, and capabilities. Second, we introduce a new concept – IO empowerment (IOE) – which encapsulates formal and informal changes in IO power over time. Third, we introduce a novel dataset on IO capabilities, which measures the formal rules governing IO staff and financial resources as well as the actual capabilities available to six well‐known IOs over 65 years. These original data show that capabilities vary not only across IOs but also over time.

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Section: Conceptualizing Ioementioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring the Empowerment of International Organizations: The Evolution of Financial and Staff Capabilities

Heldt

Schmidtke

2017

Global Policy

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“…Lastly, the influence of decision-making rules explains the less dynamic approach in the OSCE, albeit in a different way than the literature suggests (Hanrieder, 2014). What distinguishes the OSCE and the ESDP is not the rule itself-after all, consensus decisions are required in both cases-but the way in which it becomes effective as a result of the varying extent of membership.…”

Section: Same Decision-making Rule-different Influence Resulting Frommentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Finally, the institutional context can also manifest itself in decision-making rules, which determine the veto power of opponents to change (Hanrieder, 2014). Both of the organizations we examine here are subject to the consensus rule, which makes lock-in effects particularly likely to occur, considering that individual member states can obstruct change by blocking decisions.…”

Section: Feminist Historical Institutionalism and Change Within Intermentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining variation in the implementation of global norms: Gender mainstreaming of security in the OSCE and the EU

Jenichen

Joachim

2018

International Political Science Review

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Why do regional security organizations choose different approaches to implementing global gender norms? To address this question, we examine how the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the European Union (EU) integrated requirements derived from UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on women, peace and security into their security policies. We identify differences in scope and dynamics between the change processes in the two organizations. The OSCE simply adapted its existing gender policy and has not changed it since, whereas the EU introduced a new, more extensive and specific policy, which it has already amended several times. Drawing on historical institutionalism and feminist institutionalism, we found that, first, reform coalitions prepared the ground for gender mainstreaming in the organizations’ respective security policies; and that, second, embedded policy structures, including rules and norms about external interaction as well as existing policy legacies, were responsible for the different approaches of the EU and OSCE with respect to UNSCR 1325.

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“…Deeply embedded preferences and policies can outlive the conditions that led to them being developed and promoted (Capoccia, 2016). A further important insight that emerges from this work is that, while institutional decision‐making structures and the actors within them are capable of agency, they do not always act rationally, in the sense of setting clear strategic goals and working coherently towards them (Hanrieder, 2014).…”

Section: Framing Aid Strategy In Complex Decision‐making Systems: Hismentioning

confidence: 99%

“Donorship” and strategic policy‐making: Germany’s Middle Eastern and North African aid programme since the Arab uprisings

Furness

2020

Development Policy Review

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Motivation:Germany's official aid to Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries has more than doubled since 2011, ostensibly to support their own responses to development and humanitarian challenges following the Arab uprisings. The dramatic increases in aid have not been accompanied by a public strategy setting out Germany's objectives in the region, and the role of aid in conjunction with other policy tools in achieving them. Purpose: What strategic objectives does the German government have for its MENA aid, and have these objectives changed in response to the Arab uprisings? Does the practice of Germany's aid spending actually address development and humanitarian challenges in the MENA region, as these are defined by MENA countries themselves? In order to address these questions, this article develops key insights from the historical institutionalist and aid effectiveness literature that explain strategic policy-making in complex decision-making systems. Approach and Methods: Two propositions are discussed in a structured review of the policy and practice dimensions of Germany's MENA aid programme: first, that Germany's aid and foreign policy system has not been able to articulate a clear strategy due to political differences and bureaucratic inertia; and second that the priorities tend to favour German and European security interests rather than the region's own development and humanitarian priorities. Findings: The analysis reveals that, while new priorities for development co-operation in response to the Arab uprisings have been set, Germany's MENA aid programme shows signs of policy incoherence and fragmentation. This is unlikely to change without a "whole-of-government" strategy for Germany's MENA engagement. Furthermore, while there is little evidence of purposeful securitization of aid, short-term stability has been privileged over support for political change. Policy Implications: A whole-of-government strategy based on the Sustainable Development Goals could balance German interests with the MENA region's development priorities, ironing out the most problematic incoherencies, and thereby increasing partner country ownership.

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Gradual Change in International Organisations: Agency Theory and Historical Institutionalism

Cited by 42 publications

References 33 publications

Measuring the Empowerment of International Organizations: The Evolution of Financial and Staff Capabilities

Measuring the Empowerment of International Organizations: The Evolution of Financial and Staff Capabilities

Explaining variation in the implementation of global norms: Gender mainstreaming of security in the OSCE and the EU

“Donorship” and strategic policy‐making: Germany’s Middle Eastern and North African aid programme since the Arab uprisings

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