Briefing Papers
Katja Creutz, Alternative Ways of Global Governance: Informal institutions and the role of small states, February 2017.
In addition to formal international organizations, alternative ways of arranging intergovernmental cooperation are proliferating. One tendency is to create looser structures around a shared purpose often without permanent secretariats. The G20 and the Arctic Council are examples of such informal intergovernmental institutions.
Informal institutions are preferred due to their supposed effectiveness, but also because of domestic politics. Most states participate in such institutions, but the United States in particular has favoured them over formal international organizations.
The increasing importance of informal institutions, especially if they …read more
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