Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni
Biographic Data
| ID | 4085435 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mette Eilstrup-Sangiovanni |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mette |
| FAMILY NAME | Eilstrup-Sangiovanni |
| SIGNATURE | EILSTRUP-SANGIOVANNI M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cambridge |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9783-0446 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 152 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 21 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Reorienting climate litigation in a time of backlash
Accountability in densely institutionalized governance spaces
The concept of organizational accountability is central to good governance both domestically and internationally. However, assessing accountability in densely institutionalized global governance spaces requires new conceptual and analytical tools. Rather than concentrating on the accountability of states, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), and transnational corporations as distinct sets of global actors…
Issue-adoption and campaign structure in transnational advocacy campaigns
Why do transnational actors choose to campaign on specific issues, and why do they launch campaigns when they do? In this article, we theorize the membership, focus, timing and strategies used in transnational advocacy campaigns as a function of long-standing professional networks between NGOs and individual professional campaigners. Unlike previous scholarship that highlights the role of powerful ‘gatekeeper’ organizations whose central position…
The instability of the nuclear nonproliferation regime complex
This article theorizes path-dependent changes in the institutional architecture of the nuclear nonproliferation regime complex; it analyses the effects of different regime-complex structures on institutional contestation and policy adjustment. I first offer a general theory of how the preexisting institutional structures of international regime complexes (IRCs) facilitate and constrain subsequent institutional developments in ways that make IRCs …
The global governance complexity cube
Published online: 06 November 2021
Ordering global governance complexes
Many observers worry that growing numbers of international institutions with overlapping functions undermine governance effectiveness via duplication, inconsistency and conflict. Such pessimistic assessments may undervalue the mechanisms available to states and other political agents to reduce conflictual overlap and enhance inter-institutional synergy. Drawing on historical data I examine how states can mitigate conflict within Global Governance…
The anachronism of bellicist state-building
Unlike state-building in medieval Europe, America, and Africa, where a combination of security threats and economic incentives led to a swift consolidation of central authority, post-war Europe has lacked an essential ingredient of successful state-building: an existential threat. The result, argue Keleman and McNamara, has been a ‘gradual, uneven, and dysfunctional’ integration process, stopping short of statehood. Ironically, their comparative …
Re-bordering Europe? Collective action barriers to ‘Fortress Europe
This article discusses the collective action problems associated with different kinds of joint external bordering and highlights specific aspects of the European Union which I argue make it particularly ineffective at supplying (many) forms of external bordering. Applying this framework to the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy, European Immigration Policy, and European Neighbourhood Policy, I explain why each of these areas is subject to ch…
Enforcers beyond Borders
Scholars have studied international NGOs as advocates and service providers, but have neglected their importance in autonomously enforcing international law. We have two basic aims: first to establish the nature and significance of transnational NGO enforcement, and second to explore the factors behind its rise. NGO enforcement comprises a spectrum of practices, from indirect (e.g., monitoring and investigation), to direct enforcement (e.g., pros…
What kills international organisations? When and why international organisations terminate
This article addresses the puzzle of why, and under what conditions, international organisations cease to exist. International Relations literature offers rich explanations for the creation, design and effectiveness of international institutions and their organisational embodiments, international organizations (IOs), but surprisingly little effort has gone into studying the dynamics of IO termination. Yet if we want to understand the conditions u…
Death of international organizations. The organizational ecology of intergovernmental organizations, 1815–2015
Under what conditions do international governmental organizations (IGOs) cease to exist? Surprisingly, leading theories of international organization rarely address this question. Across the theoretical spectrum scholars assume that international organizations have a high degree of “staying power”. Yet reality looks different. More than one-third of IGOs created since 1815 have since died. This article addresses the puzzle of why IGOs cease to ex…
Of the contemporary global order, crisis, and change
The contemporary global order is widely said to be in crisis. But despite a rapidly proliferating literature on the subject, there is little clarity or consensus about wherein the 'crisis' consist, or what precisely is under threat. We offer a restricted characterization of the post-war global order based on its fundamental substantive and procedural ordering principles: sovereign inter-state relations and a relatively open global economy, charac…
Competition and strategic differentiation among transnational advocacy groups
Hierarchy among NGOs
Why the World Needs an International Cyberwar Convention
States’ capacity for using modern information and communication technology to inflict grave harm on enemies has been amply demonstrated in recent years, with many countries reporting large-scale cyberattacks against their military defense systems, water supply, and other critical infrastructure. Currently, no agreed-upon international rules or norms exist to govern international conflict in cyberspace. Many governments prefer to keep it that way.…
Varieties of Cooperation
A growing literature touts the prominence of international cooperation among substate officials through so-called transgovernmental networks (TGNs). These networks are allegedly faster, cheaper and more flexible than conventional international treaty organizations (ITOs) (e.g. Slaughter, 2004). Yet, TGNs are not evenly distributed, either in terms of geography or issue-area. While some policyareas are characterized by networked cooperation, other…
From Advocacy to Confrontation
We analyze forms of environmental activism that eschew the "information and socialization" politics typically associated with Transnational Advocacy Groups (TAGs) and instead favor direct, confrontational strategies, whose aim is to enforce international law. While mainstream TAGs typically seek influence through norm entrepreneurship, lobbying or "naming and shaming", what we label Direct Enforcement (DE) intervenes directly to halt (purportedly…
The End of Balance-of-Power Theory? A Comment on Wohlforth et al.'s `Testing Balance-of-Power Theory in World History
The balance of power is one of the oldest and most venerable concepts in the study of International Relations. Few concepts have had a comparable influence on both scholarship and statesmanship, and few have been so fiercely contested. In a recent article, `Testing Balance-of-Power Theory in World History' ( EJIR, June 2007), Wohlforth et al. set out to test balance-of-power theory against 2000 years of world history. Although their article has c…
Uneven Power and the Pursuit of Peace
Assessing the Dangers of Illicit Networks
Theoretical work on networked organization informs a large swathe of the current literature on international organized crime and terrorism in the field of international relations. Clandestine networks are portrayed as large, fluid, mobile, highly adaptable, and resilient. Many analysts have concluded that this makes them difficult for more stable, hierarchical states to combat. The prevailing mood of pessimism about the ability of states to comba…
Debates on European Integration
European Integration as a Solution to War
We seek to establish the conditions in which binding international institutions can serve as a solution to preventive war. Scholars of international integration portray institutions as a response to problems of incomplete information, transaction costs and other barriers to welfare improvement for their members. In contrast, we show that international institutions can have binding properties that solve credible commitment problems among member st…
Of the contemporary global order, crisis, and change
The contemporary global order is widely said to be in crisis. But despite a rapidly proliferating literature on the subject, there is little clarity or consensus about wherein the 'crisis' consist, or what precisely is under threat. We offer a restricted characterization of the post-war global order based on its fundamental substantive and procedural ordering principles: sovereign inter-state relations and a relatively open global economy, charac…
From Advocacy to Confrontation
We analyze forms of environmental activism that eschew the "information and socialization" politics typically associated with Transnational Advocacy Groups (TAGs) and instead favor direct, confrontational strategies, whose aim is to enforce international law. While mainstream TAGs typically seek influence through norm entrepreneurship, lobbying or "naming and shaming", what we label Direct Enforcement (DE) intervenes directly to halt (purportedly…
Assessing the Dangers of Illicit Networks
Theoretical work on networked organization informs a large swathe of the current literature on international organized crime and terrorism in the field of international relations. Clandestine networks are portrayed as large, fluid, mobile, highly adaptable, and resilient. Many analysts have concluded that this makes them difficult for more stable, hierarchical states to combat. The prevailing mood of pessimism about the ability of states to comba…
What kills international organisations? When and why international organisations terminate
This article addresses the puzzle of why, and under what conditions, international organisations cease to exist. International Relations literature offers rich explanations for the creation, design and effectiveness of international institutions and their organisational embodiments, international organizations (IOs), but surprisingly little effort has gone into studying the dynamics of IO termination. Yet if we want to understand the conditions u…
Enforcers beyond Borders
Scholars have studied international NGOs as advocates and service providers, but have neglected their importance in autonomously enforcing international law. We have two basic aims: first to establish the nature and significance of transnational NGO enforcement, and second to explore the factors behind its rise. NGO enforcement comprises a spectrum of practices, from indirect (e.g., monitoring and investigation), to direct enforcement (e.g., pros…
Re-bordering Europe? Collective action barriers to ‘Fortress Europe
This article discusses the collective action problems associated with different kinds of joint external bordering and highlights specific aspects of the European Union which I argue make it particularly ineffective at supplying (many) forms of external bordering. Applying this framework to the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy, European Immigration Policy, and European Neighbourhood Policy, I explain why each of these areas is subject to ch…
Competition and strategic differentiation among transnational advocacy groups
The anachronism of bellicist state-building
Unlike state-building in medieval Europe, America, and Africa, where a combination of security threats and economic incentives led to a swift consolidation of central authority, post-war Europe has lacked an essential ingredient of successful state-building: an existential threat. The result, argue Keleman and McNamara, has been a ‘gradual, uneven, and dysfunctional’ integration process, stopping short of statehood. Ironically, their comparative …
European Integration as a Solution to War
We seek to establish the conditions in which binding international institutions can serve as a solution to preventive war. Scholars of international integration portray institutions as a response to problems of incomplete information, transaction costs and other barriers to welfare improvement for their members. In contrast, we show that international institutions can have binding properties that solve credible commitment problems among member st…
The instability of the nuclear nonproliferation regime complex
This article theorizes path-dependent changes in the institutional architecture of the nuclear nonproliferation regime complex; it analyses the effects of different regime-complex structures on institutional contestation and policy adjustment. I first offer a general theory of how the preexisting institutional structures of international regime complexes (IRCs) facilitate and constrain subsequent institutional developments in ways that make IRCs …
The End of Balance-of-Power Theory? A Comment on Wohlforth et al.'s `Testing Balance-of-Power Theory in World History
The balance of power is one of the oldest and most venerable concepts in the study of International Relations. Few concepts have had a comparable influence on both scholarship and statesmanship, and few have been so fiercely contested. In a recent article, `Testing Balance-of-Power Theory in World History' ( EJIR, June 2007), Wohlforth et al. set out to test balance-of-power theory against 2000 years of world history. Although their article has c…
Uneven Power and the Pursuit of Peace
Issue-adoption and campaign structure in transnational advocacy campaigns
Why do transnational actors choose to campaign on specific issues, and why do they launch campaigns when they do? In this article, we theorize the membership, focus, timing and strategies used in transnational advocacy campaigns as a function of long-standing professional networks between NGOs and individual professional campaigners. Unlike previous scholarship that highlights the role of powerful ‘gatekeeper’ organizations whose central position…
European Integration as a Solution to War
We seek to establish the conditions in which binding international institutions can serve as a solution to preventive war. Scholars of international integration portray institutions as a response to problems of incomplete information, transaction costs and other barriers to welfare improvement for their members. In contrast, we show that international institutions can have binding properties that solve credible commitment problems among member st…
Debates on European Integration
Uneven Power and the Pursuit of Peace
Assessing the Dangers of Illicit Networks
Theoretical work on networked organization informs a large swathe of the current literature on international organized crime and terrorism in the field of international relations. Clandestine networks are portrayed as large, fluid, mobile, highly adaptable, and resilient. Many analysts have concluded that this makes them difficult for more stable, hierarchical states to combat. The prevailing mood of pessimism about the ability of states to comba…
The End of Balance-of-Power Theory? A Comment on Wohlforth et al.'s `Testing Balance-of-Power Theory in World History
The balance of power is one of the oldest and most venerable concepts in the study of International Relations. Few concepts have had a comparable influence on both scholarship and statesmanship, and few have been so fiercely contested. In a recent article, `Testing Balance-of-Power Theory in World History' ( EJIR, June 2007), Wohlforth et al. set out to test balance-of-power theory against 2000 years of world history. Although their article has c…
From Advocacy to Confrontation
We analyze forms of environmental activism that eschew the "information and socialization" politics typically associated with Transnational Advocacy Groups (TAGs) and instead favor direct, confrontational strategies, whose aim is to enforce international law. While mainstream TAGs typically seek influence through norm entrepreneurship, lobbying or "naming and shaming", what we label Direct Enforcement (DE) intervenes directly to halt (purportedly…
Varieties of Cooperation
A growing literature touts the prominence of international cooperation among substate officials through so-called transgovernmental networks (TGNs). These networks are allegedly faster, cheaper and more flexible than conventional international treaty organizations (ITOs) (e.g. Slaughter, 2004). Yet, TGNs are not evenly distributed, either in terms of geography or issue-area. While some policyareas are characterized by networked cooperation, other…
Hierarchy among NGOs
Why the World Needs an International Cyberwar Convention
States’ capacity for using modern information and communication technology to inflict grave harm on enemies has been amply demonstrated in recent years, with many countries reporting large-scale cyberattacks against their military defense systems, water supply, and other critical infrastructure. Currently, no agreed-upon international rules or norms exist to govern international conflict in cyberspace. Many governments prefer to keep it that way.…
Competition and strategic differentiation among transnational advocacy groups
Death of international organizations. The organizational ecology of intergovernmental organizations, 1815–2015
Under what conditions do international governmental organizations (IGOs) cease to exist? Surprisingly, leading theories of international organization rarely address this question. Across the theoretical spectrum scholars assume that international organizations have a high degree of “staying power”. Yet reality looks different. More than one-third of IGOs created since 1815 have since died. This article addresses the puzzle of why IGOs cease to ex…
Of the contemporary global order, crisis, and change
The contemporary global order is widely said to be in crisis. But despite a rapidly proliferating literature on the subject, there is little clarity or consensus about wherein the 'crisis' consist, or what precisely is under threat. We offer a restricted characterization of the post-war global order based on its fundamental substantive and procedural ordering principles: sovereign inter-state relations and a relatively open global economy, charac…
Re-bordering Europe? Collective action barriers to ‘Fortress Europe
This article discusses the collective action problems associated with different kinds of joint external bordering and highlights specific aspects of the European Union which I argue make it particularly ineffective at supplying (many) forms of external bordering. Applying this framework to the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy, European Immigration Policy, and European Neighbourhood Policy, I explain why each of these areas is subject to ch…
Enforcers beyond Borders
Scholars have studied international NGOs as advocates and service providers, but have neglected their importance in autonomously enforcing international law. We have two basic aims: first to establish the nature and significance of transnational NGO enforcement, and second to explore the factors behind its rise. NGO enforcement comprises a spectrum of practices, from indirect (e.g., monitoring and investigation), to direct enforcement (e.g., pros…
What kills international organisations? When and why international organisations terminate
This article addresses the puzzle of why, and under what conditions, international organisations cease to exist. International Relations literature offers rich explanations for the creation, design and effectiveness of international institutions and their organisational embodiments, international organizations (IOs), but surprisingly little effort has gone into studying the dynamics of IO termination. Yet if we want to understand the conditions u…
The global governance complexity cube
Published online: 06 November 2021
Ordering global governance complexes
Many observers worry that growing numbers of international institutions with overlapping functions undermine governance effectiveness via duplication, inconsistency and conflict. Such pessimistic assessments may undervalue the mechanisms available to states and other political agents to reduce conflictual overlap and enhance inter-institutional synergy. Drawing on historical data I examine how states can mitigate conflict within Global Governance…
The anachronism of bellicist state-building
Unlike state-building in medieval Europe, America, and Africa, where a combination of security threats and economic incentives led to a swift consolidation of central authority, post-war Europe has lacked an essential ingredient of successful state-building: an existential threat. The result, argue Keleman and McNamara, has been a ‘gradual, uneven, and dysfunctional’ integration process, stopping short of statehood. Ironically, their comparative …
The instability of the nuclear nonproliferation regime complex
This article theorizes path-dependent changes in the institutional architecture of the nuclear nonproliferation regime complex; it analyses the effects of different regime-complex structures on institutional contestation and policy adjustment. I first offer a general theory of how the preexisting institutional structures of international regime complexes (IRCs) facilitate and constrain subsequent institutional developments in ways that make IRCs …
Accountability in densely institutionalized governance spaces
The concept of organizational accountability is central to good governance both domestically and internationally. However, assessing accountability in densely institutionalized global governance spaces requires new conceptual and analytical tools. Rather than concentrating on the accountability of states, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), and transnational corporations as distinct sets of global actors…
Issue-adoption and campaign structure in transnational advocacy campaigns
Why do transnational actors choose to campaign on specific issues, and why do they launch campaigns when they do? In this article, we theorize the membership, focus, timing and strategies used in transnational advocacy campaigns as a function of long-standing professional networks between NGOs and individual professional campaigners. Unlike previous scholarship that highlights the role of powerful ‘gatekeeper’ organizations whose central position…
Reorienting climate litigation in a time of backlash
Political science (20 works) · Law (14 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Economics (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · International Development and Aid (9 works) · International Relations and Foreign Policy (9 works) · Political economy (9 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (8 works) · Business (6 works)