The Capacity of International Institutions: A Conceptual Framework for Empirical Analysis

Abstract

This paper aims to develop a simple, rigorous, and generally applicable
analytical framework for investigation of the ability of international
institutions to shape the political contestation among actors in
international politics. To achieve this end, it discusses the key conceptual
problems of the existing notions of the functioning of international
institutions and offers steps to address these problems. It partially
reformulates and formalizes the currently used concepts of effectiveness
and robustness of institutions and builds upon them the concept of
institutional capacity, which captures the quality of the institutions’ work in
a more complex and analytically rigorous manner. Subsequently, the paper
discusses how the concept of institutional capacity can be applied to the
study of the political systems of international organizations and presents a
list of 24 criteria that are suitable for assessments of their functioning.