Hollow multilateralism: How autocracies contest norms and procedures of international organizations

• Project/Area Number: 25K00611
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 06020:International relations-related
• Research Institution: Hitotsubashi University
• Principal Investigator: Flonk Danielle 一橋大学, 社会科学高等研究院, 講師 (60990447)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 高橋 知子 京都大学, 東南アジア地域研究研究所, 助教 (90983875)
• Project Period (FY): 2025-04-01 – 2029-03-31
• Project Status: Granted (Fiscal Year 2025)
• Budget Amount: ¥18,720,000 (Direct Cost: ¥14,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,320,000); Fiscal Year 2028: ¥260,000 (Direct Cost: ¥200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥60,000); Fiscal Year 2027: ¥6,890,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,590,000); Fiscal Year 2026: ¥6,890,000 (Direct Cost: ¥5,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,590,000); Fiscal Year 2025: ¥4,680,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,080,000)
• Keywords: Global governance / Autocracy / Internet governance

Outline of Research at the Start

International relations scholars assume that multilateralism is a key component of the liberal international order. However, autocracies are increasingly pushing for new norms and institutions. The applicant argues that this type of multilateralism is hollow: the promotion of multilateralism by authoritarian regimes is a fig leaf to use the rules and principles of the liberal international order to hollow out the system from within. The aim of this project is to analyze the effect of autocracy on the hollowing out of multilateralism and to uncover the causal mechanisms behind this process.