Exit from International Organizations
Costly Negotiation for Institutional Change

A theoretically grounded and empirically systematic study of exit from international organizations across 198 states, 534 IOs, and 100 years.

Inken von Borzyskowski (Author), Felicity Vabulas (Author)

9781009532280, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 June 2025

412 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.774 kg

'If the reasons a country joins an International Organizations might be intuitively clear, explaining why it might leave, be expelled or sanctioned is not – and has remained so because such steps are complex and relatively rare. Patterns and insights emerge, however, when the entire universe of IO exit cases, transpiring over more than a century across 534 international organizations, are painstakingly assembled. von Borzyskowski and Vabulas have curated, analyzed, and interpreted this important dataset for the rest of us, in the process breaking new ground in IO theory and practice while creating a public good that will be used and updated for years to come.' Michael Woolcock, Lead Social Scientist, Development Research Group, World Bank and Adjunct Lecturer of Public Policy, Harvard University

Why do states exit international organizations (IOs)? How often does exit from IOs – including voluntary withdrawal and forced suspension – occur? What are the effects of leaving IOs for the exiting state? Despite the importance of membership in IOs, a broader understanding of exit across states, organizations, and time has been limited. Exit from International Organizations addresses these lacunae through a theoretically grounded and empirically systematic study of IO exit. Von Borzyskowski and Vabulas argue that there is a common logic to IO exit which helps explain both its causes and consequences. By examining IO exit across 198 states, 534 IOs, and over a hundred years of history, they show that exit is driven by states' dissatisfaction, preference divergence, and is a strategy to negotiate institutional change. The book also demonstrates that exit is costly because it has reputational consequences for leaving states and significantly affects other forms of international cooperation.

Acknowledgements
Part I. Introduction and Theory: 1. The common logic of IO exits
2. Exit as a costly strategy to negotiate change
Part II. Withdrawal: 3. Predictors of withdrawal: when and why do states withdraw from IOs?
4. The consequences of IO withdrawal for exiting states
5. Case studies: three withdrawals
Part III. Suspension: 6. Predictors of suspension: when and why do states get suspended from IOs?
7. The consequences of IO suspension for exiting states
8. Case studies: three suspensions
Part IV. Conclusion: 9. Revisiting exit from IOs
References
Data appendix.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS]