Exploring different levels of stakeholder activity in international institutions: Late bloomers, regular visitors, and overachievers in arctic council working groups

Abstract

This chapter illustrates different ‘worlds of commitment’ with regard to how accredited observers participate in Arctic Council Working Groups, and the weight this carries for the institutional effectiveness of the body. Drawing on a dataset that covers the attendance records of Arctic Council member states, Permanent Participants, and observers for the period from 1998 until 2015, the author shows large variation in how stakeholders make use of their right to participate in Working Group meetings. The chapter further seeks to explain the reasons for this variation by comparing the cases of three state observers, namely Germany (the late bloomer), the Netherlands (the regular visitor), and South Korea (the overachiever).