How liberal institutions might unintentionally trigger their own intense challenges
In short: Researchers developing a theory of international orders found that the most established and liberal institutions may actually generate the most intense opposition. By studying the Liberal International Order as a system of various suborders, the authors observed that highly institutionalized systems face more order-challenging contestation than less formal ones.
The study proposes a theory of endogenous contestation, suggesting that the very strength of liberal institutions can lead to their paralysis. The authors argue that even when institutions try to be responsive, they can become ossified, losing legitimacy and driving reformers toward more radical challenges. However, the paper focuses on theoretical development and the analysis of existing suborders rather than a new empirical dataset.
The paper identifies mechanisms where liberal accommodation can lead to institutional rigidity, which then frustrates reformers and shifts contestation from order-consistent to order-challenging.
Why it matters: The very stability and responsiveness of global institutions may inadvertently create the conditions for their own fundamental challenge.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Goddard et al. (2024). Contestation in a World of Liberal Orders. Global Studies Quarterly. · cc-by
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