Overview

In crisis management operations, strategic errors can cost lives. Some international organizations (IOs) learn from these failures whereas others tend to repeat them. Given that they have high rates of turnover, how is it possible that any IO retains knowledge about the past? This book introduces an argument for how and why IOs develop institutional memory from their efforts to manage crises. Findings indicate that the design of an IO's learning infrastructure (e.g. lessons learned offices and databases) can inadvertently disincentivize IO elites from using it to share knowledge about strategic errors. Elites - high-level officials in IOs - perceive reporting to be a risky endeavour. In response, they develop institutional memory by creating and using informal processes, including transnational interpersonal networks, private documentation and conversations during crisis management exercises. The result is an institutional memory that is highly dependent on only a handful of individuals. The book draws on the author's interviews and a survey experiment with 120 NATO elites across four countries. Cases of NATO crisis management in Afghanistan, Libya and Ukraine further illustrate the development of institutional memory. Findings challenge existing research on organizational learning by suggesting that formal learning processes alone are insufficient for ensuring that learning happens. The book also offers recommendations to policymakers for strengthening the learning capacity of IOs.

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9780190672218

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"""How do international organizations develop institutional memory? Heidi Hardt argues that we look at both formal and informal processes within the organization - and particularly the way they shape reaction to strategic errors - to understand institutional memory formation. In making her argument she provides a wealth of evidence about the formal processes in NATO, why they are often skirted, and the informal mechanisms that allow the organization to work. Reliance on informal mechanisms is critical to NATO's functioning but also makes it reliant on key personalities. Hardt expects that similar dynamics are common in other IOs. If you are interested in institutional learning or NATO, you will want to read this book."" --Deborah Avant, Si� Ch�ou-Kang Chair and Director for International Security and Diplomacy, University of Denver ""Extremely well designed, this is an impressive and ambitious book, whose arguments are compelling. Hardt's interviews and surveys provide incredibly rich and unparalleled data. Anyone studying NATO needs to read this book, and it will be of great value to scholars and students studying other international organizations."" --James Goldgeier, author of Not Whether But When: The U.S. Decision to Enlarge NATO ""Can international organizations learn? The answer is more than just a simple no as Heidi Hardt finds that formal lessons learning processes are doomed to fail, but that informal learning can occur. Given how much has been asked of NATO and how much NATO has done the past twenty years, it is an important, fruitful, intriguing, and, due to Hardt's extensive interviews, fascinating case. This book is a must for students of International Organizations as Hardt moves beyond the basic question of whether IOs matter or if they have agency to determine under what conditions will they improve. Hardt provides a compelling account for why NATO has not figured out how to perform better as it has centres and institutions devoted to learning lessons."" --Stephen M. Saideman, Paterson Chair in International Affairs, Carleton University"

How do international organizations develop institutional memory? Heidi Hardt argues that we look at both formal and informal processes within the organization - and particularly the way they shape reaction to strategic errors - to understand institutional memory formation. In making her argument she provides a wealth of evidence about the formal processes in NATO, why they are often skirted, and the informal mechanisms that allow the organization to work. Reliance on informal mechanisms is critical to NATO's functioning but also makes it reliant on key personalities. Hardt expects that similar dynamics are common in other IOs. If you are interested in institutional learning or NATO, you will want to read this book. --Deborah Avant, Si Ch ou-Kang Chair and Director for International Security and Diplomacy, University of Denver Extremely well designed, this is an impressive and ambitious book, whose arguments are compelling. Hardt's interviews and surveys provide incredibly rich and unparalleled data. Anyone studying NATO needs to read this book, and it will be of great value to scholars and students studying other international organizations. --James Goldgeier, author of Not Whether But When: The U.S. Decision to Enlarge NATO Can international organizations learn? The answer is more than just a simple no as Heidi Hardt finds that formal lessons learning processes are doomed to fail, but that informal learning can occur. Given how much has been asked of NATO and how much NATO has done the past twenty years, it is an important, fruitful, intriguing, and, due to Hardt's extensive interviews, fascinating case. This book is a must for students of International Organizations as Hardt moves beyond the basic question of whether IOs matter or if they have agency to determine under what conditions will they improve. Hardt provides a compelling account for why NATO has not figured out how to perform better as it has centres and institutions devoted to learning lessons. --Stephen M. Saideman, Paterson Chair in International Affairs, Carleton University

Author Information

Heidi Hardt is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. Her research explains how and why international organizations perform in the ways that they do, particularly in the area of international conflict management. She is the author of Time to React: The Efficiency of International Organizations in Crisis Response (Oxford University Press, 2014). Her research has also been published in edited volumes and in journals, including Review of International Organizations, Global Governance, European Security and African Security.

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