Contestation of International Organizations: Patterns, Drivers, and Responses

Abstract

The contestation of international organizations (IOs) over past decades has inspired a rich research program. This essay takes stock of progress by reviewing key findings in existing scholarship and identifying critical areas for future study. We propose a typology that distinguishes between internal contestation, which criticizes the institutions or policies of an IO with the aim of reform, and external contestation, which challenges an IO’s foundational principles and very existence. Building on this conceptual distinction, we review the most important findings of existing research on three key themes: patterns of contestation, drivers of contestation, and responses to contestation. We also argue that this conceptualization helps us better understand the changing nature of contestation: while criticism of how IOs function has long been a staple of world politics, it recently appears to have shifted toward a deeper form involving more fundamental questioning of IOs themselves. We conclude by highlighting the need for dynamic theories and improved measurements to explain when and how IO contestation shifts from internal criticism to external rejection, and by outlining a forward-looking research agenda on organizational robustness, hegemonic contestation, and the relationship between IO contestation and the broader contestation of global governance.