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<p>International organizations (IOs) are crucial actors in global governance. Yet, we lack the conceptual means to study how different levels of formality in IO’s design can influence world politics. Current research almost always treats the formality of IOs’ designs as a strict binary—either an IO is formal or it is informal. This approach is problematic because it undermines the capacity to understand the causes and implications attached to different institutional choices <i>within</i> IOs. In this piece, I develop a conceptual framework that can be used to systematically unpack the formality of an IO’s design beyond the formal/informal dichotomy. I introduce three indicators to measure levels of institutional formality: <i>bindingness, delegation, and repetition.</i> I then break down the design of an IO into three core dimensions: <i>membership accession rules, scope of issues covered,</i> and <i>coordination unit.</i> I argue that each of these dimensions can show different levels of formality, which can vary over time. I show how this multidimensional conceptualization aids the theoretical development of such variation. The paper includes examples drawn from different IOs, illustrating the empirical applicability of the framework.</p>

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Formality of international organizations: a multidimensional approach

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年2月12日

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  • Isabel Rodriguez-Toribio

摘要

International organizations (IOs) are crucial actors in global governance. Yet, we lack the conceptual means to study how different levels of formality in IO’s design can influence world politics. Current research almost always treats the formality of IOs’ designs as a strict binary—either an IO is formal or it is informal. This approach is problematic because it undermines the capacity to understand the causes and implications attached to different institutional choices within IOs. In this piece, I develop a conceptual framework that can be used to systematically unpack the formality of an IO’s design beyond the formal/informal dichotomy. I introduce three indicators to measure levels of institutional formality: bindingness, delegation, and repetition. I then break down the design of an IO into three core dimensions: membership accession rules, scope of issues covered, and coordination unit. I argue that each of these dimensions can show different levels of formality, which can vary over time. I show how this multidimensional conceptualization aids the theoretical development of such variation. The paper includes examples drawn from different IOs, illustrating the empirical applicability of the framework.