ABSTRACT
From a theoretical perspective, Regional Intergovernmental Organizations (RIGOs) are fundamentally exercises in collective action. Studying them can deepen our understanding and test theories about intergovernmental cooperation, collective action and institution building. At a more granular, and practical, level we are also interested in what makes a RIGO an effective actor overall and across different policy areas. There are two common traps researchers and practitioners are apt to be caught in when considering RIGOs. On one hand, there is the trap of thinking RIGOs are all alike. On the other hand, there is the trap of thinking they are all different. The other trap is to consider RIGOs to be so different that they defy categorization. There are too many different questions that we can ask about how RIGOs differ, and why, to list. Pursuing these threads will lead to answers that are important in their own right.
