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Protecting economic reform by seeking membership in liberal international organizations

Steen-Sprang, Louise Marie
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1061306349

Abstract Details

2003, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Political Science.
Domestic leaders use international institutions to increase their domestic political power and protect favored policies. During economic transformation, governments can protect reform policies by seeking membership in an international organization with specific liberal membership requirements. The accession process into such an organization binds governments to reform policies and increases their ability to withstand attempts by reform opponents to weaken the reform process. Two approaches from the literature on economic transformation yield competing hypotheses predicting when governments will use the accession process to protect economic reform. The dominant J-curve approach predicts that reforming governments seek outside help during economic transformation when short-term losers threaten reform success. Short-term losers pose this threat when they are able to hold the government highly accountable to the general public, act as veto-players, or use mass uprisings against reform policies. According to the partial reform approach, reforming governments seek outside help during economic transformation when short-term winners, not losers, threaten reform success. Short-term winners pose this threat when public officials prevent reform policies from being implemented or the government is not accountable to the general populace. The competing hypotheses are tested using duration analysis and six comparative case studies. The results indicate that the J-curve approach explains the majority of cases when seeking occurs, but that the partial reform approach accurately explains a small subset of cases. Regardless of who reform opponents are, governments can use seeking membership in a liberal international organization to protect economic reform. More often the opponents are short-term losers, but short-term winners can also drive governments to seek external assistance during economic transformation. In this way, international organizations are a crucial tool that domestic leaders deliberately use to increase their domestic power and protect favored policies such as economic reform.
Brian Pollins (Advisor)
315 p.
international organizations; economic reform; economic liberalization; credible commitments; accession; negotiations

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Steen-Sprang, L. M. (2003). Protecting economic reform by seeking membership in liberal international organizations [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1061306349

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Steen-Sprang, Louise. Protecting economic reform by seeking membership in liberal international organizations. 2003. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1061306349.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Steen-Sprang, Louise. "Protecting economic reform by seeking membership in liberal international organizations." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1061306349

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1061306349
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© 2003, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.