Macro-regions and the global institutional network, 1950–1980

The article presents an analysis of post-war developments in the international network of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and identifies and delineates institutionally cohesive subsystems of states below the world level. It links up with and, for IGOs, tests approaches that stress the increasing salience of (mostly regional) subsystems within world politics. After a brief overview of existing literature and theoretical issues and choices, the growth of the number of organizations, their character, and the level of institutional involvement of states in different parts of the world is described. By means of various clustering procedures clusters of states, according to their institutional links, are identified for different years in the 1950–1980 period. Regionalism prevails within the global institutional network and is getting stronger over time. The cohesion of the different clusters diverges widely. Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Arab Group are the only really tight institutional subsystems of some magnitude and stability. Although existing patterns are remarkably stable through these years, recent developments indicate the possible future emergence of a new institutional cluster of Pacific states, including the USA.