Transnational governance in motion: Regional development banks, power politics, and the rise and fall of South America's infrastructure integration

Under what conditions does one transnational governance mode evolve into another? Under what conditions does a transnational governance initiative break down? The article addresses these questions through the analysis of the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA), showing how delegation, orchestration, and intergovernmental (direct) governance can be linked to one another, creating a chain of governance modes in motion. By reconstructing IIRSA's trajectory, we illuminate the orchestrating role of regional development banks, and explore the conditions leading to the breakdown of transnational governance. The article contributes to the indirect governance literature by complementing prevailing functionalist accounts with a power-based perspective that underlines the impact of intergovernmental conflicts and power asymmetries on transnational governance. The article also bridges the gap between the international relation governance scholarship and comparative regionalism, providing new insights on the logics of transnational governance in world regions characterized by limited state capacities.