Regional Integration: Choosing Plutocracy

The international system is based on sovereign equality, yet states sometimes choose to cooperate through plutocratic governance arrangements, under which members of a multilateral accord delegate policymaking to the wealthiest state among them. In 1995, Russia created an economic integration agreement using plutocratic structures. Prussia and South Africa led similar arrangements in their respective regions during earlier historical periods. Numerous states joined these integration efforts. Regional Integration answers the plutocracy question with a novel theory focusing on the political survival of the leadership. In narratives laced with kings, diamonds, revolutions, and hyper-nationalism, Hancock traces the stories of these states and their paths to plutocracy.

The international system is based on sovereign equality, yet states sometimes choose to cooperate through plutocratic governance arrangements, under which members of a multilateral accord delegate policymaking to the wealthiest state among them. In 1995, Russia created an economic integration agreement using plutocratic structures. Prussia and South Africa led similar arrangements in their respective regions during earlier historical periods. Numerous states joined these integration efforts. Regional Integration answers the plutocracy question with a novel theory focusing on the political survival of the leadership. In narratives laced with kings, diamonds, revolutions, and hyper-nationalism, Hancock traces the stories of these states and their paths to plutocracy.

Kathleen J. Hancock received her PhD in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego. She is Assistant Professor at the Colorado School of Mines, in the Masters program on the International Political Economy of Resources; she previously taught at the University of Texas, San Antonio. She has published articles in Foreign Policy Analysis, Asian Perspective, and China-Eurasia Forum, and book reviews in the International Studies Review, Journal of Politics, and Human Rights & Human Welfare. Field research was conducted in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, with grants from the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation Fellowship, Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation/MacArthur Fellowship, and Institute for International Education.