The Enforcement Power of International Agents

Abstract

Even IR scholars who believe international institutions can have independent effects upon state behavior dismiss the possibility that international organizations (IOs) can independently enforce international norms and rules because they do not trade, cannot tax, and are unable to conscript militaries. Multiple case studies of enforcement of the nuclear nonproliferation regime demonstrate that IOs can reduce the cost of international contract enforcement – coerce compliance – if IOs have some autonomy from their state masters and the ability to punish noncompliance or reward compliance on their behalf. This finding has clear policy implications for states seeking to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime, though the implications have application to other areas of international cooperation.

Keywords: international organizations, international institutions, international cooperation, enforcement, nuclear weapons, nuclear proliferation