This volume examines the subject of authoritarian regionalism, and is the first to systematically investigate the functioning and the impact of authoritarian regionalism as a new phenomenon as well as its implications for democratization world-wide.

The interconnection between international organizations (IOs) membership and democratization has become a topic of intense debate. However, the main focus of the literature so far has been on IOs created by democratic states and comprised mostly of democracies, for examples the European Union. In contrast to existing studies, this book focuses on another group of regional IOs, referred to as 'non-democratic IOs' which are organizations founded by autocracies. How do these newly emerged organizations interrelate and interact with the outside world? How do they counteract and confront the danger of democratization in their own member states and neighboring states? This book aims to address these questions by developing a new theory of authoritarian regionalism, and by combining both quantitative and qualitative analysis to test it. The quantitative analysis uses a large dataset of all regional organizations worldwide for the post-World War II period, with the aim of defining historical trends in development and the modification of regionalism over the last seven decades (1945-2015). Qualitative analysis refines and develops the argument by looking at the case of post-Soviet Eurasia. The book uncovers a new type of regionalism - 'authoritarian regionalism' and traces its historical roots as well as its implications for modern politics. The book is the first attempt to systematically investigate the functioning and the impact of authoritarian regionalism as a new phenomenon as well as its implications for democratization world-wide. The book contributes to the theory of regionalism, international organizations, studies of autocracies, foreign policy, and democratization world-wide.

The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Regionalism - the first of its kind - offers a systematic and wide-ranging survey of the scholarship on regionalism, regionalization, and regional governance. Unpacking the major debates, leading authors of the field synthesize the state of the art, provide a guide to the comparative study of regionalism, and identify future avenues of research. Twenty-seven chapters review the theoretical and empirical scholarship with regard to the emergence of regionalism, the institutional design of regional organizations and issue-specific governance, as well as the effects of regionalism and its relationship with processes of regionalization. The authors explore theories of cooperation, integration, and diffusion explaining the rise and the different forms of regionalism. The handbook also discusses the state of the art on the world regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Eurasia, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Various chapters survey the literature on regional governance in major issue areas such as security and peace, trade and finance, environment, migration, social and gender policies, as well as democracy and human rights. Finally, the handbook engages in cross-regional comparisons with regard to institutional design, dispute settlement, identities and communities, legitimacy and democracy, as well as inter- and transregionalism.

Cooperation through international organizations is fundamental to the international legal order. International organizations are nowadays ubiquitous and come in many different manifestations, each allowing for different levels of international cooperation. The profile of regional and universal organizations may vary greatly from one organization to another. At the same time, they do not live apart and this has led to the creation of a complex network of relationships. These relationships have seldom been the object of scholarship, and this book seeks to address that gap. In general, the relationships between international organizations can give rise to such issues as the conditions placed upon one organization by another, demarcations of competence, membership of other organizations, and various forms of collaboration involving the conclusion of agreements between organizations. Optimal coexistence, cooperation and coherence all play a role in optimizing the relations between international organizations. The volume concludes by analysing current challenges, including those of legal identity, responsibility and accountability, as well as making proposals for reform, such as through the development of a common law between organizations.

With democracy in decline, authoritarian governments are staging a comeback around the world. Over the past decade, illiberal powers have become emboldened and gained influence within the global arena. Leading authoritarian countries—including China, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela—have developed new tools and strategies to contain the spread of democracy and challenge the liberal international political order. Meanwhile, the advanced democracies have retreated, failing to respond to the threat posed by the authoritarians. As undemocratic regimes become more assertive, they are working together to repress civil society while tightening their grip on cyberspace and expanding their reach in international media. These political changes have fostered the emergence of new counternorms—such as the authoritarian subversion of credible election monitoring—that threaten to further erode the global standing of liberal democracy. In Authoritarianism Goes Global, a distinguished group of contributors present fresh insights on the complicated issues surrounding the authoritarian resurgence and the implications of these systemic shifts for the international order. This collection of essays is critical for advancing our understanding of the emerging challenges to democratic development. Contributors: Anne Applebaum, Anne-Marie Brady, Alexander Cooley, Javier Corrales, Ron Deibert, Larry Diamond, Patrick Merloe, Abbas Milani, Andrew Nathan, Marc F. Plattner, Peter Pomerantsev, Douglas Rutzen, Lilia Shevtsova, Alex Vatanka, Christopher Walker, and Frederic Wehrey

This book explains cooperative and confrontational regional orders in the post-Cold War era. Applying a push-and-pull framework to the evolution of regional orders, the book’s theoretical section compares regional dynamics and studies the transformation and authority of governing arrangements among key regional actors who manage security and institutional cooperation. This presents a novel approach to comparing non-Western regional orders, and helps forge a better integration between International Relations disciplinary approaches and area studies. The empirical section analyzes Central Eurasia and South America within the period 1989-2017, using case studies and interviews with decision-makers, practitioners and experts. The volume demonstrates that soft engagement strategies from extra-regional great powers and internationalist domestic coalitions framed in a stable democratic polity are forces for peaceful interaction, while hard engagement strategies from great external powers plus nationalist coalitions within democratic backsliding in key regional powers present negative outlooks for regional cooperation. This book will be of much interest to students of regional security, comparative politics, area studies and International Relations.