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DELPOWIO

Delegation and Empowerment of International Organizations

In recent decades, there has been a steady increase in the number of international Organizations (IOs). At varying levels states have transferred some authority to IOs, giving them different levels of power. While there has been a steady extension of competences of the EU, IMF, and World Bank, in the GATT/WTO, UNESCO, and WHO the level of delegated authority has remained constant. We argue that IO empowerment (IOE) is a function of temporal dynamics, the degree of cohesion among principals, and the design of the delegation contract. On the theoretical side, the aim of this interdisciplinary project is to develop a theory of IOE that integrates a temporal dimension into the principal-agent approach. We do this by resorting to four different disciplines: political science, economics, law, and organizational sociology. On the empirical side, the main novelty of the project consists in adopting a comparative research design and a longitudinal perspective. We analyze the empowerment of six IOs (EC/EU, GATT/WTO, IMF, UNESCO, WHO, and World Bank) over a period of 65 years (1950-2015). Given the aim and scope of this research, the project is to be regarded as theory-building and hypothesis-testing research. It is based on extensive qualitative work conducted in the archives of these six IOs as well as on elite interviews with national and international officials. With this project, we gain new insights into the following fields: consequences of power delegation to IOs; the temporal dimension of the interaction between states and IOs; the preference formation of states; the comparison of different types of IOs. This allows us to answer the broader and more general question of the conditions under which IOs can operate as independent actors in world politics and to advance theoretical insights and empirical research in International Relations.

Research questions
  • How can we measure and explain IO empowerment?
  • When, how and under which conditions do processes of empowerment occur?
  • Which causal mechanisms foster IO empowerment?
  • How do state preferences towards IO empowerment shift over time?
Objectives
  • Develop a theory of IO empowerment
  • Explain the origins of and shifts in state preferences on international cooperation
  • Model the relationship between states and IOs as a dynamic interactive process
  • Compare different types of IOs across issue-areas over time
Why this is new
  • Interdisciplinary, theory-driven research combining political science, economics, law and sociology
  • Comparative research design with a longitudinal perspective: six IOs over 65 years (1950-2015)
  • A comparative perspective across six issue areas (health, trade, culture, finance, development, and regional integration) at the European and global level
  • Testable hypotheses about the consequences of power delegation and the conditions under which empowerment is more likely to occur over time
Project Details

Project Duration: 2013 – 2019

This project was funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013), ERC Grant Agreement 312368.

Invitations for Project-Related Talks
  • European Integration under Stress: Policy Failures and Disintegration Tendencies, 2019 Politics and Culture in Europe Annual Lecture, Maastricht University, 17.04.2019.
  • Speaking with a Single Voice in the Two-level Game Brexit Negotiations?, London School of Economics and Political Science, Cumberland Lodge, 01.02.2019.
  • The Existential Crisis of the EU: Causes and Consequences, University of Coimbra, 12.11.2018.
  • Invigorating and Reforming Multilateral Governance,  European External Action Service, Brussels, 26.06.2018.
  • Empowering International Organizations, Graduate Institute Geneva, 13.03.2018
  • Conceptualization and Operationalization of Empowerment, Workshop Resourcing International Organizations, University of Munich, 23.06.2016.
  • Measuring and Explaining Empowerment of International Organizations, University of Leipzig, 11.05.2016.
  • Empowering International Organizations, Temple University, Philadelphia, 13.04.2016.
  • Empowering International Organizations over Time, Center for European Studies, Harvard University, 18.11.2015.
  • Emerging Powers Preferences towards Empowerment of International Organizations, Free University Berlin, 22.06.2015.
  • Internal cohesiveness and external effectiveness of the EU in global governance, Princeton University, March 2014.
  • Delegation of Power to International Organizations and Institutional Empowerment over Time, University of Bonn, 10.07.2013.
Presentations at International Conferences and Workshops
  • Privatization of Development Governance: Adaptation Strategies of the World Bank in Turbulent Times, paper presented at International Studies Association 2019, Toronto, March 25-30, 2019.
  • Democracy in Decline? How Rising Authoritarianism Limits Democratic Control Over International Institutions, paper presented at SPSA Annual Conference & Dreiländertagung, Zurich, February 14-16, 2019.
  • Back to Bretton Woods: How Institutional Proliferation Has Increased the Resilience of the World Bank, paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, August 30-September 2, 2018.
  • European Policy Failure during the Refugee Crisis: Partial Empowerment, Reluctant Agents, a Cacophony of Voices, and Unilateral Action, European University Institute, 2018.
  • Independence, Accountability, and Legitimacy: Mission Impossible for the European Central Bank?, paper presented at the ECPR Standing Groups Sciences Po, June 13-15, 2018.
  • European Policy Failure during the Refugee Crisis: Partial Empowerment, Reluctant Agents, a Cacophony of Voices, and Unilateral Action, paper presented at the ECPR Standing Groups Sciences Po, June 13-15, 2018.
  • Independence, Accountability, and Legitimacy: Mission Impossible for the European Central Bank?, paper presented at the 25thInternational Conference of Europeanists, Chicago, March 28-30, 2018.
  • European Policy Failure during the Refugee Crisis: Partial Empowerment, Reluctant Agents, a Cacophony of Voices, and Unilateral Action, paper presented at the 25thInternational Conference of Europeanists, Chicago, March 28-30, 2018.
  • The EU Performance During the Refugee Crisis, paper presented at the 25thInternational Conference of Europeanists, Chicago, March 28-30, 2018.
  • Global Democracy in Decline? How Rising Authoritarianism limits Democratic Control over Multilateral Development Banks, paper presented at the International Studies Association Annual Convention, San Francisco, April 4-7, 2018.
  • EU Governance in Crisis Mode: Disempowering the European Commission, paper presented at the ECPR General Conference, September 6-9, 2017.
  • Contested Multilateralism and the World Bank: Explaining the Establishment of the New Development Bank, paper presented at the ECPR General Conference, September 6 – 9, 2017 and at the DVPW IP-Sektionstagung, October 4-6, 2017.
  • Power without Control? Explaining variety of accountability mechanisms across troika institutions, paper presented at the European Workshops in International Studies, Accountability in Global Governance, Cardiff, June 07-10, 2017.
  • The Systematic Study of Commission Discretion using Principal–Agent Theory: Lessons from the EU’s Development Cooperation Policy, paper presented at the EUSA Biennial Conference, Miami, 4-6 May, 2017.
  • Disintegration Dynamics in Europe? Mass Migration, Cacophony of Voices, and External Spill-Back Processes, paper presented at the EUSA Biennial Conference, Miami, 4-6 May, 2017.
  • The Silent Empowerment of the ECB During the Euro Crisis, paper presented at the EUSA Biennial Conference, Miami, 4-6 May, 2017.
  • Rise and Decline of Old Bretton Woods Institutions: Dysfunctionality and Insulation at the World Bank, paper presented at the ISA Annual Convention, Baltimore, February 22-25, 2017.
  • Explaining the Empowerment of International Organizations, paper presented at 58th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, Baltimore, February 22-25, 2017.
  • Exploring the Paradox of Increasing Transparency in TTIP Negotiations, paper presented at the Council for European Studies 23rd International Conference for Europeanists, Philadelphia, April 14-16 and at the Interdisciplinary Conference on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) at the University of Gothenburg March 14-15, 2016.
  • Empowering International Organizations, paper presented at the 57th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, Atlanta, March 16-19, 2016 and University of Munich Workshop on “Resourcing International Organizations”.
  • Partisan Orientation of Old and New Power Governments towards Empowerment at the World Bank, paper presented at the 57th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, Atlanta, March 16-19, 2016.
  • Variation Without Influence? (In)formal Policy-making in EU Development Cooperation, paper presented at the Council for European Studies 23rd International Conference for Europeanists, Philadelphia, April 14-16.
  • How Effective are Informal Coalitions in Global Governance? Rising Powers as shapers of global health rules, paper presented at the 57th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, Atlanta, March 16-19, 2016.
  • The World Health Organization’s adaptive capacity in a complex inter-organizational environment“ paper presented at the 57th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, Atlanta, March 16-19, 2016.
  • Lost in Internal Evaluation: Accountability and Insulation at the World Bank, Paper presented at the workshop, “The Transformative Power of Regulatory Governance”, Copenhagen Business School, February 4-5, 2016.
  • Negotiating Styles of Rising Powers in Global Economic Governance, paper presented at the Workshop “From Rule-Takers to Rule-Makers: Emerging Powers in the Regulation of International Trade”, University of Geneva February 9-10, 2016.
  • Emerging Power Preferences towards Institutional Empowerment of International Organizations, paper presented at the ISA 2015 Annual Convention, New Orleans, February 18-21, 2015.
  • Acting on Behalf of Collective and Multiple Principals: The European’s Commission Discretion after Lisbon, paper presented at the at the European Union Studies Association, Boston March 5-7, 2015.
  • Accountable to Whom and How? Logics of Accountability in EU Governance during the Sovereign Debt Crisis, paper presented at the European Union Studies Association, Boston, 5-7, 2015.
  • Acting on Behalf of Collective and Multiple Principals: The European’s Commission Discretion after Lisbon, paper presented at the Workshop The EU in International Negotiations, Global Governance Program, European University Institute, 23-24 June 2014.
  • The Perils of Delegation: Using Oversight Mechanisms to Minimize Agency Slack. Paper presented at the ECPR Joint Sessions, Salamanca, 11-14 April 2014.
  • When Speaking with a Single Voice Isn’t Enough: Bargaining Power (A)symmetry and EU External Effectiveness in Global Trade Governance, paper presented at the Council for European Studies, Washington DC, 14-16 March 2014.
  • Delegation of Power to International Organizations and Institutional Empowerment over Time, paper presented at the ECPR Joint Sessions, Mainz, 12-15 March 2013.
  • Delegation of Power to International Organizations and Institutional Empowerment over Time: A Research Design, paper presented at the International Studies Association Annual Convention, San Francisco, 3-6 April 2013.
  • A Cacophony of Voices? The EU’s Cohesiveness in the Negotiation of Bilateral and Multilateral Trade Agreements, paper presented at the International Studies Association Annual Convention, San Francisco, 3-6 April 2013 and at the European Union Studies Association, Baltimore, 9-11 May 2013.
  • The EU as a Global Actor: The Impact of Asymmetrical Bargaining Power and BATNAS on Trade Agreements, paper presented at the Conference for European Union Studies Association, Boston, 22-24 March 2012.
Workshops
  • Bretton Woods @ 75: Legacies and Innovations in Global Economic Governance (December 8-10, 2017 – Munich/Raitenhaslach): The 75th anniversary of the Bretton Woods conference offers an important occasion to assess the legacies of the agreements at the conference and the politics surrounding innovations in the modern global economic system since 1944. This workshop discusses the contributions to a Special Issue for the Review of International Political Economy that examines the politics of continuity and change in global economic governance. The focus is on the institutions that were established at Bretton Woods and those that emerged with time to manage a growing global economy and help governments cope with new international and domestic realities
  • Empowerment of International Organizations (December 8-9, 2016 – Munich): Under what conditions are international organizations (IOs) powerful actors in global governance? What shapes IOs’ effectiveness and normative influence over time? This workshop will explore the different material, institutional, and normative resources of formal and informal IOs. We will discuss how these components of IO power have transformed over time and across IOs. We will also examine IOs’ different modes of governance and explore potential downsides of authority delegation to IOs.

  • Tim Büthe, Technical University of Munich (Germany)
  • Orfeo Fioretos, Temple University (USA)
  • Tamar Gutner, American University (USA)
  • Liesbet Hooghe, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) & University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
  • Ian Hurd, Northwestern University (USA)
  • Tana, Johnson, Duke University (USA)
  • Jacint Jordana, Universitat Pompeu Fabra & Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (Spain)
  • Gary Marks, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) & University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
  • Sophie Meunier, Princeton University (USA)
  • Manuela Moschella, Scuola Normale Superiore (Italy)
  • Mark Pollack, Temple University (USA)
  • Duncan Snidal, Oxford University (UK) & University of Chicago (USA)
  • Jonas Tallberg, Stockholm University (Sweden)
  • Alexander Thompson, Ohio State University (USA)
  • Catherine Weaver, University of Texas (USA)
  • Bernhard Zangl, LMU München (Germany)
  • Michael Zürn, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung (WZB) (Germany)

This project was funded between 2013-2019 by the European Research Council under the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013)

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