Authoritarian Regimes in Regional and Global Governance Institutions

We are currently witnessing a third wave of autocratization, with democratic recessions in many of the established democracies (Lührmann & Lindberg, 2019). The backlash against democratic institutions is also directed towards global governance institutions and the liberal international order (Eilstrup-sangiovanni & Hofmann, 2019; Ferguson et al., 2017; Ikenberry, 2018; Pepinsky & Walter, 2019). States exit from international treaties (von Borzyskowski & Vabulas, 2019), cut funding for multilateral projects (Ege & Bauer, 2017; Goetz & Patz, 2017), and contest central principles of international cooperation (Börzel & Zürn, 2021; Heinkelmann-Wild & Jankauskas, 2020). At the same time, important autocratic powerhouses strive for more influence in global politics. Countries such as China, Russia, or Saudi Arabia are investing heavily in development projects across the globe, they expand their international media presence, and cooperate closely within regional organizations (ROs) (Hackenesch & Bader, 2020; Weiss & Wallace, 2021). While we know a lot about the role of regime type and democratization in international cooperation and the spread of liberal norms (e.g. Mansfield et al., 2000; Pevehouse, 2005; Tallberg et al., 2020), we know relatively little about international consequences of reverse processes for global governance institutions. Instead, most of the current literature has focused on the effect of international factors on regime type. In comparative politics, scholars have debated the efforts of autocratic powers in intentionally shaping and sustaining autocracy in their immediate neighborhood (Bader, 2014; Tansey, 2016; Tolstrup, 2015; Vanderhill, 2013) with ROs as one possible instrument of influence (Kneuer et al., 2018; Libman & Obydenkova, 2018). Regionalism scholars in turn have investigated if and how ROs help domestic survival politics of authoritarian regimes (Debre, 2021a, 2021b; Debre & Morgenbesser, 2017; Obydenkova & Libman, 2019; Söderbaum, 2004). Constructivist inspired literature also looks at normative dimensions, debating the question of diffusion of authoritarian norms and practices and authoritarian learning as a more unintentional form of external influence on regime survival (Flonk, 2021; Glasius et al., 2020; Lankina et al., 2016; Yom, 2014). This workshop fills this theoretical and empirical gap by adding to our understanding of the consequences of growing authoritarian politics for global governance institutions. To do this, the workshop aims to bring together cutting-edge research on the role of autocratization for world politics both from institutional and normative perspectives. We aim to contribute to four major themes related to these two perspectives. First, the workshop addresses to what extent authoritarian regional institutions promote illiberal norms, thereby legitimizing autocratic rule and challenging liberal democratic values. Second, the workshop explores the role of authoritarian states as norm entrepreneurs who aim to challenge, contest and reshape international liberal norms towards authoritarian alternatives. Third, the workshop seeks to unpack to what extent authoritarian powers provide alternative institutional fora for cooperation in policy areas such as international development, security or trade, and how competitive regime creation challenges established institutions. Finally, the workshop addresses potential consequences of democratic recession and growing autocratization for the institutional design, legitimacy and performance of global governance institutions.