Exit from International Organizations

Exit from International Organizations
Thursday, Nov. 13th. | 4:00p.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Political Science Village - University Hall 4100

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Why do states exit international organizations (IOs)? How often does exit from IOs – including voluntary withdrawal and forced suspension – occur? What are the effects of exit for the departing state? Despite the importance of membership in IOs, a broader understanding of exit across states, organizations, and time has been limited until now.

This talk will present highlights from "Exit from International Organizations", a book that addresses these lacunae through a theoretically grounded and empirically systematic study of IO exit. By examining IO exit across 198 states, 534 IOs, and more than 100 years of history, the book documents that exit is often a result of negotiation and is indeed costly; it has negative reputational and cooperative consequences for exiting states.
Dr. Felicity Vabulas is the Blanche E. Seaver Associate Professor of International Studies at Pepperdine University. Her research focuses on when and why states change how they cooperate internationally and the implications this has for international relations. Her latest book from Cambridge University Press “Exit from International Organizations: Costly Negotiation for Institutional Change” with Inken von Borzyskowski just came out this summer. Her research has received a best paper award from the American Political Science Association and has been supported by the World Bank, the National Science Foundation, and the International Studies Association. She has been awarded a Howard A. White Award for Excellence in Teaching. She serves on the editorial boards for the Journal of Politics and the American Journal of Political Science. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.