Rational choice and indirect global governance

Rational choice is one of the key approaches to international relations and is very important for understanding international organizations (IOs), and indirect global governance more generally. We begin with principal–agent theory and the question of why states delegate authority to IOs. We then examine the problems states face in doing so. This raises the tension between having competent IOs and being able to control them; we use competence–control theory to introduce alternative forms of indirect governance—trusteeship, cooptation, and (especially) orchestration—that put the agency and goals of IOs (rather than states) at the center of the analysis. Bringing in non-state actors such as nongovernmental organizations and rebel groups demonstrates the range of rational choice theory in analyzing other actors as both governors and intermediaries in global governance.