Bernhard Zangl: Power Shifts and Institutional Change in International Institutions

Shifts in the international distribution of power create an impetus for institutional change. As powers such as China rise and powers such as the US decline, international institutions come under pressure to adapt to new power realities. Yet, the pathways to institutional adaptation vary considerably. What is more, sometimes attempts of institutional adaptation are successful and sometimes they fail.

Bernhard Zangl's project therefore asks: what are the conditions under which different pathways to institutional adaptation are chosen, and what are the pathway-specific conditions for the success or failure of institutional adaptation? The project initial proposition is that differences in power shifts translate into differences in pathways to institutional adaptation. Depending on whether power shifts involve revisionist or reformist powers and depending on whether power shifts imply hard or soft power, the resulting pathways to institutional adaptation will take the shape of power bargaining, strategic co-optation or strategic persuasion, which in turn feature specific conditions for the success or failure of institutional adaptation. Taking this "power shift proposition" as a starting point, the project seeks to develop a "theory of institutional adaptation" which will be assessed in case studies on institutional (non-)adaptation to international power shifts.

Co-Spokesperson

• Dr. Andreas Kruck
  (GSI of Political Science, LMU)

Events

• Conference – "Bringing Negotiations Back In: Institutional Adaptations to Global Power Shifts"
  (Winter Semester 2018/19)
• Lunch Talk – "The Future of Global Order. Institutional Adjustments to Global Power Shifts"
  (Summer Semester 2019)
• Workshop – "International Institutions in an Age of Global Power Shifts: Negotiating Change"
  (Summer Semester 2019)

Associated Events

• Lectures in the context of the "Joint IR Speakers Series" of Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science at LMU and TUM School of Governance
  • Lecture by Martin Binder (University of Reading/CAS Visiting Fellow) – "With 'Frenemies' Like These: Rising Power Voting Behaviour in the UN General Assembly"
    (Winter Semester 2018/19)
  • Lecture by Alexander Thompson (Ohio State University/CAS Visiting Fellow) – "Once Bitten, Twice Shy? Investment Disputes, State Sovereignty and Treaty Design"
    (Summer Semester 2019)
  • Lecture by Paul K. MacDonald (Wellesley College/CAS Visiting Fellow) – "Repertoires of Power Politics and the Crisis of the Liberal Order"
    (Summer Semester 2019)