The Survival of International Organizations: Institutional Responses to Existential Challenges

While international organizations (IOs) have played a central role in global governance in the post-Cold War period, during the last decade many have struggled. Due to the rise of populism, the Trump presidency, and the renewed assertiveness of the emerging powers, various IOs have been challenged in ways that put their ability to perform core functions at risk.

This book studies the responses of IOs to such existential challenges. It focuses on the central institutional actors inside IOs—IO leaders and their bureaucracies—which have a strong interest in the survival and well-being of their organizations. Presenting six case studies and drawing on more than 100 interviews, the book highlights the variation in the way in which these institutional actors try to cope with and counter existential challenges: Some fight tooth and nail to keep their IOs relevant, while other institutional actors are more circumspect in their actions.

The book shows that institutional actors try to tailor their responses to the specific types of existential challenges, but their ability to do so depends on the quality of their leadership, organizational structure, and embedding in external networks. This book is thus about the IOs themselves. It is about those who lead IOs at the top but equally about the desk officers who keep the machinery running. By providing a view from behind the scenes, the book uncovers important processes about the survival of IOs and international institutions.