Why do states exit international organizations (IOs)? How often does exit from IOs – including voluntary withdrawal and forced suspension – occur? What are the effects of leaving IOs for the exiting state? Despite the importance of membership in IOs, a broader understanding of exit across states, organizations, and time has been limited. Exit from International Organizations addresses these lacunae through a theoretically grounded and empirically systematic study of IO exit. Von Borzyskowski and Vabulas argue that there is a common logic to IO exit which helps explain both its causes and consequences. By examining IO exit across 198 states, 534 IOs, and over a hundred years of history, they show that exit is driven by states' dissatisfaction, preference divergence, and is a strategy to negotiate institutional change. The book also demonstrates that exit is costly because it has reputational consequences for leaving states and significantly affects other forms of international cooperation.

Winner, 2026 Chadwick F. Alger Prize, International Studies Association

Short-listed, 2026 Susan Strange Best Book Prize, British International Studies Association

Shortlisted, 2026 Hedley Bull Prize, European Consortium for Political Research

Winner, 2026 Hedley Bull Prize, European Consortium for Political Research

Honorable Mention, 2026 Susan Strange Best Book Prize, British International Studies Association

‘An important new book explaining how states bargain to change institutions by using exit. With comprehensive analysis and fascinating cases, the authors explore every aspect of the complex negotiations, offering a model of rigorous social science research. This insightful study on exit strategies provides a valuable new perspective on theories of international cooperation.'

Christina L. Davis - Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics, Harvard University

‘Exit from International Organizations valuably shows that dissatisfaction with institutional performance is often associated with state withdrawal; that fewer than 10% of threats to withdraw are carried out; that there is no long-term trend in withdrawal incidence; and that withdrawal has greater effects on reputations than on material consequences. Students of international organizations can learn a lot from this careful study.'

Robert O. Keohane - Professor of International Affairs, Princeton University

‘Despite widespread interest in international organizations, very little systematic research has been conducted on why states sometimes exit such organizations and the consequences of withdrawal. This impressive study sheds new light on these important issues.'

Edward D. Mansfield - Hum Rosen Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania

‘If the reasons a country joins an International Organizations might be intuitively clear, explaining why it might leave, be expelled or sanctioned is not – and has remained so because such steps are complex and relatively rare. Patterns and insights emerge, however, when the entire universe of IO exit cases, transpiring over more than a century across 534 international organizations, are painstakingly assembled. von Borzyskowski and Vabulas have curated, analyzed, and interpreted this important dataset for the rest of us, in the process breaking new ground in IO theory and practice while creating a public good that will be used and updated for years to come.'

Michael Woolcock - Lead Social Scientist, Development Research Group, World Bank and Adjunct Lecturer of Public Policy, Harvard University

‘Amid a decade marked by high-profile exits, this book provides the most systematic analysis to date of why states leave international organizations (IOs), what consequences follow, and how these departures shape global governance … In an era when multilateralism is under strain, this book offers both analytical clarity and empirical depth. It will become essential reading for anyone interested in the politics of international cooperation, institutional resilience, and the future of global order.’

Allison Carnegie Source: The Review of International Organizations