The Politics of Contender Institutions (POLCON)
POLCON tackles the institutional power struggles within global governance, examining if and how the creation of new international institutions challenge established ones across different policy areas, and how this dynamic reshapes international cooperation in a tense geopolitical climate.
About the Project: The Politics of Contender Institutions (POLCON)
Understanding the Shifting Landscape of Global Governance
In an ever-changing world, the way states coordinate and govern political issues on the international stage has undergone profound transformations. Driven by geopolitical shifts since the end of the Cold War, new intergovernmental arrangements have emerged, often overlapping or complementing the functions of pre-existing international institutions. These arrangements form what we call “regime complexes”—arrays of institutions governing specific issue areas.
Within these regime complexes, states face a multitude of institutional alternatives, each vying for authority. As a consequence of this growing density of competing institutions, many once-central and uncontested legacy organizations now find themselves in direct competition with alternative multilateral arrangements. These newcomers enter the scene with their own intentions, strategies, and goals and they reflect the diverse political ambitions and goals of their founding states.
Core Questions
The POLCON project, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), seeks to unravel the dynamics of these institutional power struggles within global governance. Here are key questions we aim to answer:
Cooperation or Competition? What are the incentives to cooperate from the perspective of legacy institutions and their newly created contenders? What motivates them to share or openly compete for resources and members? What factors influence their choices?
Strategies of Contender Institutions: What organizational strategies do newly created International Organizations (IOs) adopt to gain a foothold in their respective regime complexes? How do these strategies vary across different policy areas and evolve over time?
Political and Normative Consequences: How does the creation of new international institutions affect the political processes within pre-existing regime complexes, how do they change the behaviour of states? What are the consequences for the normative foundations of international cooperation across different issue areas?
News
27.09.2024 New Publication🚨
In their latest article for the German Political Science Quarterly (PVS), Benjamin Daßler, Sandra J. Bandemer, Berthold Rittberger, and Moritz Weiss delve into the European Union’s strategic interactions with international organizations during crises. 🌍🔍
The EU’s internal crisis responses are well-documented, but what about its external engagements? Key insight: EU's approach is shaped by the convergence of ends & means with other IOs. The paper offers detailed case studies on the EU’s crisis-induced cooperation collaboration with the IMF, NATO, and the European Court of Human Rights.
Discover how the EU navigates complex international landscapes during turbulent times. This research is essential for understanding the EU’s multifaceted crisis management strategies.
The article will be part of a special issue on "Crises, adaptation and resilience: Exploring the transformation of regional organizations from the perspective of EU studies and comparative regionalism"
Find the full article open access here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11615-024-00572-9
30.08.2024 For The Review of International Organization (RIO) Jean Frederic Morin has reviewed Benjamin Daßler's book "The Institutional Topology of International Regime Complexes", published by Oxford University Press.
Find the book review here:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11558-024-09562-3
🌍 🗺 If you want to know more about the diverse institutional landscapes shaping international cooperation in intellectual property, tax avoidance, financial stability, development aid, and energy governance you can find the book here 📖:
https://academic.oup.com/book/55135
05.08.2024 Are you interested in why and how crises reshape the interinstitutional authority structures underlying international regime complexes? 🌍
In their new paper published in the Chinese Journal of International Politics (CJIP), Felix Biermann and Benjamin Daßler examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the relationship between legacy international organizations (IOs) and their challengers in the financial assistance regime complex.
Learn how the two most prominent new multilateral development banks (MDBs), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB), used the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to position themselves as viable alternatives to legacy institutions such as the World Bank (WB). 🏦
Read the full article below: 📖
04.07.2024 What can Euro 2024 teach EU leaders about global politics? In their Verfassungsblog article Moritz & Ben explore how the EU can become a geopolitical powerhouse without its own army. Read why smart coordination, not military duplication, is Europe's path to become a geopolitical champion on the world stage.
24.06.2024 What does a "European Zeitenwende" mean? Moritz Weiss and Benjamin Dassler argue in their LSE EUROPP blog post that weaponizing member states and partnering with NATO, not creating a European army, is the key to a real "Zeitenwende" in EU defence policy.
Recent Project-Related Publications
2024 "Navigating Regime Complexes in Turbulent Times - The EU’s Interaction with Other International Organizations in Crises" German Political Science Quarterly (PVS) (with Sandra Bandemer, Berthold Rittberger, and Moritz Weiss). Available open access at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11615-024-00572-9.
2024 "The Contender’s Momentum? COVID-19 and IO relations in the regime complex of financial assistance. Chinese Journal of International Politics (CJIP) (with Felix Biermann). Available at: Contender’s Momentum? COVID-19 and IO Relations in the Regime Complex of Financial Assistance | The Chinese Journal of International Politics | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
2023 "The Institutional Topology of International Regime Complexes - Mapping Inter-Institutional Structures in Global Governance" Oxford University Press (OUP). Available at: https://academic.oup.com/book/55135
2023 "Eine Krise liberaler Hegemonie: Die Trump-Administration und die Kontestation der Liberalen Internationalen Ordnung." In: Böller, Florian/Werner, Welf (eds.): Hegemonialer Wandel Globaler Wirtschafts- und Sicherheitsordnungen in der Ära Trump. J.B. Metzler Cham. Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-35003-0_4 (with Tim Heinkelmann-Wild & Andreas Kruck)
2022 "Good(s) for Everyone? Policy Area Competition and Institutional Topologies in the Regime Complexes of Tax Avoidance and Intellectual Property." Journal of International Relations and Development (JIRD). Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/s41268-022-00267-x
2022 "Disentangling Institutional Contestation by Established Powers: Types of Contestation Frames and Varying Opportunities for the Re-Legitimation of International Institutions." Online First at Global Constitutionalism (GlobCon) (with Andreas Kruck, Tim Heinkelmann- Wild & Raphaela Hobbach). Open Access: http://ow.ly/TvGw50Ilqxz
Contact
benjamin.dassler@gsi.uni-muenchen.de
LMU Munich
Geschwister-Scholl Institute for Political Schience
Oettingenstraße 67
80538 Munich