opec as an International Organization

This chapter examines to what extent institutional factors have contributed to changing the behavior of key Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members in a more cooperative direction that would otherwise have been the case. It discusses the aspects of OPEC as an international organization. These aspects are based on a combination of different approaches to the study of institutions. The chapter briefly describes the organizational characteristics of OPEC. It analyzes how the institutionalization of the cooperation between the OPEC members has contributed to changing the individual members' behavior and steering it in a more cooperative direction. This analytical focus implies a certain mix of the different theoretical insights gained in the various approaches presented. Studies of international regimes generally have been open to such a variety of theoretical approaches. The chapter provides a more detailed examination of the relationship between oil producers inside and outside OPEC.