Ad hoc crisis response and international organisations – ADHOCISM

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ADHOCISM explores the impact of ad hoc crisis responses on international organisations. The project aims to fill the existing knowledge gap by systematically analysing ad hoc crisis responses in two policy domains: security and health. Through this paired comparison, ADHOCISM intends to tap into a broader empirical governance phenomenon.

International organisations (IOs) are created with the aim of solving collective action problems when a crisis arises. Yet, member states have repeatedly established ad hoc crisis responses in situations where IOs could be expected to play a central role.

Ad hoc crisis responses are here understood as loose groups of actors agreeing to solve a particular crisis at a particular time and location outside of existing international organisations in the same policy domain. Ad hoc crisis responses can, in the short-term, lead to more rapid and effective crisis responses among like-minded states, but if international organisations are no longer seen as the principal instruments to confront global challenges, there is a risk that these organisations’ relevance will diminish. Similar trends may also unfold in other domains.

To advance knowledge on ad hoc crisis responses, ADHOCISM will establish a dataset of such responses in global health and security. In the health domain, the case study will be on the relationship between the World Health Organization (WHO – IO) and the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the joint COVAX project. In the security domain, the case studies will examine the AU African Standby Force and EU Battlegroups (IOs) and the Multinational Joint Task Force fighting Boko Haram (MNJTF); along with the Joint Force of the Group of Five Sahel (JF-G5S) and Barkhane, primarily in Mali.

Team

Principal Investigator: Stephanie Hofmann

Researchers: Anastasia Prokhorova, Rafaelle Mastrrocco