Making International Institutions Work
The Politics of Performance

This book explains why some international institutions succeed and others fail – and what we can do to improve them.

Ranjit Lall (Author)

9781009216289, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 February 2023

394 pages
23.5 x 15.4 x 2.4 cm, 0.74 kg

'… this impressive book embodies an important step towards greater appreciation of the promises and the limits of cooperating through international institutions.' Herman T. Salton, International Affairs

International institutions are essential for tackling many of the most urgent challenges facing the world, from pandemics to humanitarian crises, yet we know little about when they succeed, when they fail, and why. This book proposes a new theory of institutional performance and tests it using a diverse array of sources, including the most comprehensive dataset on the topic. Challenging popular characterizations of international institutions as 'runaway bureaucracies,' Ranjit Lall argues that the most serious threat to performance comes from the pursuit of narrow political interests by states – paradoxically, the same actors who create and give purpose to institutions. The discreet operational processes through which international bureaucrats cultivate and sustain autonomy vis-à-vis governments, he contends, are critical to making institutions 'work.' The findings enhance our understanding of international cooperation, public goods, and organizational behavior while offering practical lessons to policymakers, NGOs, businesses, and citizens interested in improving institutional effectiveness.

1. International institutions and the performance puzzle
2. A theory of institutional performance
3. Learning from assessment: quantitative tests on fifty-four institutions
4. Performing for scraps: comparing the FAO, the WFP, and IFAD
5. The performance of life: comparing the WHO, UNAIDS, Gavi, and GFATM
6. Effective but unaccountable?: autonomy and the politics of reform
7. The Politics of performance: contributions and implications: contributions and implications.

Subject Areas: International organisations & institutions [LBBU], United Nations & UN agencies [JPSN1], International relations [JPS]