The promises and perils of international institutional bypasses: defining a new concept and its policy implications for global governance

The rapid proliferation of international institutions has been a defining feature of postwar global governance architecture. Many international institutions overlap, playing similar or identical governance roles. Contributing to the existing research literature on this phenomenon, we offer the new concept of ‘international institutional bypass’ (IIB). Just like surgeons grafting new pathways around blocked arteries in coronary bypasses, global governors have increasingly responded to clogged international institutions by working around them. After presenting a definition of IIBs, we articulate why this concept may prove useful to work on global governance, how it is different from existing concepts, and discuss possible policy implications. Specifically, when faced with competition from an IIB, existing dominant institutions either fight back, shape up, or do nothing, which may result in displacement, merger, or co-existence. Our analysis both informed and drew upon a series of case studies published in this symposium issue of Transnational Legal Theory journal.