Exit from International Organizations: Costly Negotiation for Institutional Change

by Inken von Borzyskowski, Felicity Vabulas

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009532280
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/26/2025
Pages:	412
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

Inken von Borzyskowski is Professor of International Relations at Oxford University. Her research focuses on the domestic politics of international relations with an emphasis on international organizations and their effect on domestic conflict and elections. She has recently been awarded a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship and a Philip Leverhulme Prize while her earlier work has been awarded a Dissertation Prize from the International Studies Association and best paper awards from the American Political Science Association and the European Consortium for Political Research.

Felicity Vabulas is the Blanche E. Seaver Associate Professor of International Studies at Pepperdine University. Her research focuses on the political economy of international cooperation, specifically when and why states change how they cooperate internationally and the implications this has for international relations. She has been awarded a Seaver College Endowed Professorship and the Howard A. White Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her earlier research received a best paper award from the American Political Science Association and has been supported by the World Bank, the National Science Foundation, and the International Studies Association.

Table of Contents

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.

Editorial Reviews

‘An important new book explaining how states bargain to change institutions by using exit. With comprehensive analysis and fascinating cases, the authors explore every aspect of the complex negotiations, offering a model of rigorous social science research. This insightful study on exit strategies provides a valuable new perspective on theories of international cooperation.' Christina L. Davis, Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics, Harvard University

‘Exit from International Organizations valuably shows that dissatisfaction with institutional performance is often associated with state withdrawal; that fewer than 10% of threats to withdraw are carried out; that there is no long-term trend in withdrawal incidence; and that withdrawal has greater effects on reputations than on material consequences. Students of international organizations can learn a lot from this careful study.' Robert O. Keohane, Professor of International Affairs, Princeton University

‘Despite widespread interest in international organizations, very little systematic research has been conducted on why states sometimes exit such organizations and the consequences of withdrawal. This impressive study sheds new light on these important issues.' Edward D. Mansfield, Hum Rosen Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania

‘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

From the Publisher