ABSTRACT

This chapter seeks to address the question of why international organizations (IOs) suspend member states. It discusses how a study of membership suspension expands on scholarship devoted to exploring the ways in which member states use IOs to influence the behaviour of particular member states. The chapter presents data on variation in contemporary incidences of suspension across some regional organizations—the African Union (AU), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union, the League of Arab States and the Organization of American States. It also presents several propositions to explain conditions under which IOs are more likely to exercise suspension. The chapter reviews the theoretical and policy implications of these findings and offers directions for future research. Member states of the AU have significantly fewer financial resources relative to those of other regional organizations. The AU has 54 members, which provides more states to balance against those few dominant states.