International Organizations and Internal Conditionality

This book explores how norms-based international organizations, namely the Council of Europe and the OSCE, are still able to win in world politics. Fawn uses the concept of internal conditionality to explain how these organizations have been able to respond to members with a lack of material incentives or instruments of coercion.

“Rick Fawn has chosen for this book an interesting point of view which complements greatly the vast literature on international conditionality…. All in all, this is a very interesting study that Fawn offers on a less known aspect of conditionality, namely internal conditionality, contrary to most IR studies which focus on external conditionality.” (Elsa Tulmets, European Review of International Studies, Vol. 4, 2017)

“International Organizations and Internal Conditionality: Making Norms Matter by Rick Fawn is a well researched and informative book on international organizations … . The book is appealing and keeps the reader hooked with liberal quotes, excerpts from reports and interviews. ... This book is an informative read for all scholars and policy makers, and a ‘must read’ for scholars with a special focus on international organisations, Europe and post-Soviet studies.” (Priyanka Chhetri, Political Studies Review, Vol. 14 (1), February, 2016)

“Fawn, in this useful book, speaks about ‘Internal Conditionality’ as a concept that adds a new element for the study of interaction among international organisations (IOs) and member states. … this book will remain a path-breaking investigation in the analysis of international and domestic interactions. In particular it succeeds in bringing new data and concepts to address the latest topics in democratisation studies … .” (Samuele Dominioni, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 67 (8), October, 2015)

“Fawn’s book offers insights into the ways in which two understudied organizations function in practice. The book reminds us that norm diffusion can and does continue to occur within organizations even in the face of recalcitrant states…. Fawn’s conceptualization of internal conditionality indicates that all member states should be subject to the same accountability , whether they are “well-behaved” or not.” (Heidi Hardt, Journal of International Organizations Studies, Vol. 6 (1), 2015)

“Rick Fawn… has written an important book. His expertise in security and democratization processes in Central and Eastern Europe is demonstrated on each and every page. He started his academic studies as a student of history, and this shows as well. The book evidences a sound comprehension of the historical context in which these organizations operate, and there is plenty of attention to what other scholars of international law and international relations might view as minor details.” (Otto Spijkers, Security and Human Rights, Vol. 25 (4), 2014)

"Well researched and cogently reasoned, this book will undoubtedly be widely read and will make a lasting contribution to the theory as well as the practice of democratization and human rights promotion [...] Most of the IR literature on norm diffusion has focused on transnational networks and argumentation with officials at the national level. Fawn goes beyond this scholarship in a very important way: by inquiring into the processes whereby IOs, transnational civil society and the state engage one another. In order to do so he advances the concept of 'internal conditionality,' or the means through which normative influence is exerted by IOs." - Douglas Blum, Providence College, USA

'It is a common error to give credit only to NATO and the European Union for the relative stability and good governance European nations enjoy today. Wider, ostensibly weaker groupings like the Council of Europe and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have also striven since Cold War times to spread Western standards to a growing range of neighbouring or newly-created states. This book for once gives these organizations their due, looking in detail at cases where they have applied overt and/or subtle pressures to remedy government abuses - with results more significant than many might expect.'

- Alyson Bailes, University of Iceland

"Rick Fawn has delivered the defining study of the power politics, normative struggles and subtle tools of influence that characterize value-based organizations like the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Fawn's theoretical precision, fascinating cases and eye for the unexpected turn reveal both how cynical states subvert the principled commitments of international organizations and how tactically astute bureaucrats and like-minded allies can counter their challenges. International Organizations and Internal Conditionality is a must-read for scholars and international policymakers engaged with the broader question of how regional organizations maintain normative commitments in the absence of hard material incentives." - Alexander Cooley, Columbia University, USA

Rick Fawn is a Senior Lecturer in the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews, UK. He has recently edited Georgia: War and Revolution and Globalising the Regional, Regionalising the Global and is co-author of Historical Dictionary of the Czech State.