Outside Options and Informal Governance in International Organizations by Major Powers
Major powers can exert influence on international organizations through formal rules and informal channels.Formal rules are usually manifested in the greater share of vot-ing power.However,greater voting power cannot guarantee that major powers could pro-mote decisions that are consistent with their preferences.To achieve their policy goals,major powers may seek to exert influence on international organizations'decision-making through informal channels in addition to formal rules,thus instituting informal govern-ance.The availability of favorable outside options and the absence of favorable outside op-tions for other states are conditions for major powers to implement informal governance in international organizations.A significant increase in the governance capacity of international organizations can weaken the advantage of outside options of other states,and therefore provides the conditions for the major powers with favorable outside options to implement informal governance.When the conditions for implementing informal governance are present,major powers can gain greater influence through informal governance.The above theoretical explanation is empirically supported by the case studies of the governance behaviors of the United States in the International Energy Agency,Japan in the Asian Development Bank,and the United States in the International Organization for Migration.
international organizationsinformal governanceInternational Energy AgencyAsian Development BankInternational Organization for Migration
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