1987/01/01 by Stephan Haggard, Beth A. Simmons · 5 citations
Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #International Development and Aid #Natural Resources and Economic Development #International Relations and Foreign Policy
paper · doi:10.1017/s0020818300027569
Over the last decade, international regimes have become a major focus of empirical research and theoretical debate within international relations. This article provides a critical review of this literature. We survey contending definitions of regimes and suggest dimensions along which regimes vary over time or across cases; these dimensions might be used to operationalize “regime change.” We then examine four approaches to regime analysis: structural, game-theoretic, functional, and cognitive. We conclude that the major shortcoming of the regimes literature is its failure to incorporate domestic politics adequately. We suggest a research program that begins with the central insights of the interdependence literature which have been ignored in the effort to construct “systemic” theory.