Institutional Theory in International Relations

”Yes, we have no bananas! ” Thus goes the paradoxical refrain of an old popular tune. In the same vein, international relations (IR) scholars could be imagined chanting: “Yes, we have no institutions! ” The realist orthodoxy of IR posits an international system characterized by anarchy and thus devoid of effective institutions. Yet in recent decades growing numbers of IR scholars have come to apply institutional perspectives. And many prominent puzzles in today’s world can be framed in institutional terms. For example, why has NATO survived the end of the cold war, whereas the Warsaw Pact was dissolved? Why does the deepening and broadening of integration within the European Union continue despite periods of ”Eurosclerosis ” and dwindling popular support? Why do a host of practices based on state sovereignty remain in a world characterized by globalization and diminishing significance of territory and state borders? Institutional factors would no doubt loom large in the answers given to these and several other current questions by some, but by no means by all, IR scholars. Even if realism-bashing has become a favorite pastime, especially among younger researchers in the field, prevalent middle-range theories (concerning, for instance, foreign policy, bargaining or conflict resolution) have inherited from realism the notion of individual actors operating in an institution-free environment. In this chapter, we trace the emergence of institutional approaches in IR theory, outline three important areas of research on international institutions, and suggest promising directions for future research. The review demonstrates that rational choice institutionalism, historical institutionalism, and normative institutionalism, as developed in the study of domestic institutions, have constituted sources of inspiration in IR theory. At the same time, the relative absence of formal institutions in the international realm has encouraged IR scholars to theorize more subtle institutional forms and influences, with general implications for institutional analysis in political science