ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the conditions under which the influence of IPIs is expected to increase. The hypotheses emerging from the literature on new institutionalism and comparative regionalism are here tested vis-à-vis the 22 IPIs under consideration. The goal is to identify the structural conditions and the causal mechanisms that may favour (or hamper) IPIs’ empowerment. The test is performed through the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) method, which, beyond its suitability for small-to-intermediate-N research designs, allows us to take into account different combinations of causal conditions. This is a situation that is very likely to occur in this kind of study, given the great variety of regional designs. The analysis reveals, in particular, the existence of at least three different ‘roads’’ leading to the empowerment of IPIs. These roads are determined by a combination of both national domestic factors and regional organizations’ designs. In particular, while the regional design determines the presence (or absence) of the necessary structural conditions conducive to IPIs’ empowerment, domestic factors affect the causal mechanisms of this process, i.e. the kind of pathway that IPIs may follow to become empowered.
