Civil Society and International Organizations: Access, Strategy, and Influence in the OAS

Abstract

This dissertation presents three papers that theorize the influence, informal access, and advocacy strategies of civil society in international organizations (IOs). The first paper addresses the conditions under which civil society influences intergovernmental negotiations. It introduces the concept of “insider advocate”, or a governmental actor that seeks to change the behavior of a state on a principled issue and that, for this purpose, grants formal and/or informal access to the policy process to civil society. Civil society influences an intergovernmental negotiation through the provision of information, if it alters the behavior of enough states to shape its course or content. The second paper responds to the research question: under which conditions do IOs publicly criticize their member states for violating norms? It argues that IOs are more likely to criticize states’ actions when they receive information from local NGOs. However, not all NGOs are deemed reliable. IOs develop trust in these organizations through repeated interactions and pre-established relationships. The third paper addresses why do NGOs choose a given advocacy strategy in IOs; specifically lobbying or litigation. It argues that there are three factors that determine an NGO’s choice of strategy: the political and legal opportunity structures of the IO, the resources of the NGO, and its organizational identity. The dissertation uses the case of the Organization of American States (OAS), from 1990 to 2022, to address these research questions empirically. The OAS is the regional multi-purpose organization that brings together the countries of the Americas. It is home to the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights. Civil society is very active in the political organs of the OAS and in its human rights’ institutions. This makes it a relevant case for testing this dissertation’s theoretical arguments, while also advancing the empirical knowledge of the OAS in the International Relations literature. Methodologically, this dissertation employs both qualitative and quantitative methods, ranging from case studies and process-tracing to statistical methods, including text analysis and an instrumental variable approach. This research leverages information obtained through archival work at the OAS, 40 semi-structured interviews of elites, and four original databases.