The Dynamics of Enlargement in International Organizations
Authored by Jonathan B Slapin, Julia Gray, Rene Lindstadt
Date Published: 2017
DOI: 10.1080/03050629.2017.1228039
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Abstract
Most international organizations (IOs) expand their membership over the
course of their lifespan. Although these enlargements tend to be
heralded as normatively positive for the IOs themselves, for the new
members, and for cooperative outcomes more generally expansions can also
lead to conflicts in the organization. What conditions lead to
enlargement rounds that reshape an organization in unexpected ways? We
argue that, depending upon the diversity of the initial group of
countries, members may vote to admit new entrants that can tilt
organizational decision-making in unexpected directions. We anticipate
fewer enlargements with lesser impact on the character of the
organization among organizations that have either a smaller range of
founding members or a relatively even initial dispersion. We develop an
agent-based model that accounts for the complex decision-making
environment and social dynamics that typify IO accession processes. The
model helps us explain how the nature of decision-making in
organizations can shift following enlargement, likely changing the
organization's output and goals.
Tags
Agent-based models
Institutions
Decision-Making
Power
Eu enlargement
Accession
International organizations
Enlargement
European-union membership
Trading arrangements
Eastern
enlargement
National interests
Nato enlargement