How resilient is the liberal international order (LIO) in the face of mounting illiberal challenges from rising autocratic regimes and nationalist populist forces? What explains the diverging trajectories of international organizations (IOs) in committing to liberal norms? We contribute to this debate by analyzing the commitments of 28 regional IOs to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law between 1980 and 2019. Regional IOs offer a critical vantage point as they are arenas where weaker powers contest, reinterpret, or reinforce global norms; early indicators of the LIO’s erosion or renewal; and remain underexplored in existing research. Our novel dataset captures both declaratory and substantive commitments to liberal norms, revealing substantial divergence across regional IOs. While some organizations maintain or deepen their commitments under pressure, others retreat. To explain this variation, we build on the prominent decline thesis, which expects IOs’ normative commitments to align with changing member state power and preferences, but complement it with a resilience perspective. We theorize that institutional mandates, entrepreneurial agency, and organizational environments can buffer IOs against illiberal pressures. Our findings highlight the uneven fate of political liberalism in world politics and the conditions under which it can persist.

Speaker

Henning Schmidtke is currently a political science research fellow at the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy, TU Munich. His research explores the legitimation and politicization of international organizations, institutional design, and global economic governance. He has published widely in International Relations and International Political Economy journals, including International Affairs, the Review of International Organizations, and the Review of International Political Economy.

DISCUssant

TBC

CHAIR

James Hollway, Director, Global Governance Centre