International Organizations in Decline? Conceptualizing and Measuring IGO Lifecycles

International Organizations are currently under pressure. Member states (threaten to) cut resources or withdraw, rising powers aim to replace existing structures, nationalist discourses question the legitimacy of multilateral cooperation, and IGOs struggle to deal with increasingly complex crises like trade-wars or health epidemics. In consequence, multilateral institutions may decline by losing member states, vital resources and autonomy, and be unable to produce quality output. Short of disbanding IGOs altogether, member states may decide to renegotiate treaties or to replace existing institutions to adapt cooperation to changing realities. This paper sets out to conceptualize IGO lifecycles with a particular focus on defining and operationalizing processes of IGO decline and analyzing sequences and consequences for institutional development. While much of the literature focuses on explaining IGO growth and development, this paper investigates to what extent IGOs have experienced decline pertaining to their capacity, authority, performance, legitimacy, and relative status over time, how decline affects their longevity and resilience.