COVID‐19 and Policy Responses by International Organizations: Crisis of Liberal International Order or Window of Opportunity?
| Published date | 01 September 2021 |
| Author | Maria Josepha Debre,Hylke Dijkstra |
| Date | 01 September 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12975 |
COVID-19 and Policy Responses by
International Organizations: Crisis of Liberal
International Order or Window of Opportunity?
Maria Josepha Debre
University of Potsdam
Hylke Dijkstra
Maastricht University
Abstract
The liberal international order is being challenged and international organizations (IOs) are a main target of contestation.
COVID-19 seems to exacerbate the situation with many states pursuing domestic strategies at the expense of multilateral
cooperation. At the same time, IOs have traditionally benefited from cross-border crises. This article analyzes the policy
responses of IOs to the exogenous COVID-19 shock by asking why some IOs use this crisis as an opportunity to expand their
scope and policy instruments? It provides a cross-sectional analysis using original data on the responses of 75 IOs to COVID-
19 during the first wave between March and June 2020. It finds that the bureaucratic capacity of IOs is significant when it
comes to using the crisis as an opportunity. It also finds some evidence that the number of COVID-19 cases among the mem-
ber states affects policy responses and that general purpose IOs have benefited more.
Policy Implications
•International organizations have responded very differently to COVID-19. Evidence from 75 international organizations
shows that those with broad policy objectives have further expanded their scope and instruments. International organiza-
tions with a narrow focus have stuck to existing instruments.
•Bureaucratic capacity explains the ability of international organizations to use crises as an opportunity for institutional
development. It is imperative that member states further invest in the bureaucratic capacity of international organizations,
particularly in professional staff, to handle future crises.
•When considering future reforms of international organizations, member states should focus on strengthening the compe-
tences of the executive bodies to initiate policy to help organizations work better during crises.
•As we exit the pandemic it is tempting to concentrate on domestic affairs, including revisiting healthcare and pandemic
response systems, but policy makers are advised to further develop global governance in these areas as well. While
COVID-19 was initially seen as a major challenge to the liberal international order, it may well result in a deepening of glo-
bal governance in the longer term.
1.At a critical juncture
The liberal international order is in crisis and international
organizations (IOs) are a main target of contestation.
1
Increasing politicization in combination with member states
cutting resources, withdrawing from institutions, or setting
up alternative venues for cooperation has impacted IOs in
profound ways (e.g. von Borzykowski and Vabulas, 2019;
Hale et al., 2013; Patz and Goetz, 2019; Z€
urn, 2018). The
exogenous shock of COVID-19 has further exacerbated pres-
sures with many states pursuing domestic strategies at the
expense of multilateral cooperation. Academics and pundits
have therefore been quick to characterize COVID-19 as yet
another blow to the liberal international order (e.g. Kahl and
Wright, 2021; Kenwick and Simmons, 2020; Mahbubani,
2020; Norrl€
of, 2020a, 2020b). At the same time, we know
that IOs are often created exactly to address cross-border
problems (e.g. Rittberger et al., 2019) and that they regularly
benefit from crises (Kreuder-Sonnen, 2019; Monnet, 1978;
Olsson and Verbeek, 2018; Schimmelfennig, 2018).
This article analyzes the policy responses of 75 major IOs
in the context of the exogenous COVID-19 shock by asking
why some IOs use this crisis as an opportunity to expand
their scope and policy instruments, whereas other IOs use
existing instruments or barely engage with COVID-19 at all?
The purpose is not to assess the effectiveness of IOs, but
rather to examine whether IOs proactively used this exoge-
nous shock as an opportunity to expand their activities dur-
ing the first wave between March and June 2020. Even
though the COVID-19 crisis continues to date, we assume
Global Policy (2021) 12:4 doi: 10.1111/1758-5899.12975©2021 The Authors. Global Policy published by Durham University and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use,
distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Global Policy Volume 12 . Issue 4 . September 2021443
Research Article
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