The age of international institutionalism is in twilight. International organizations appear to be caught in a situation of equivocation. Despite successes, they are criticised for complicity in the reproduction of global injustice and seen as removed from local knowledges; the gaining of access is hard. Their fora seem alienated from experienced realities; ritualized debates are frustrating, producing outcomes of the lowest common denominator or intended obfuscation. They are unable to change the structures of global governance rooted in the normative power of the financial and geopolitical centers. On all of these counts, international institutions face threats to their existence, including new challenges and competition. Democratic apathy on one side and radicalization on the other call for reflection of the available modes of organization and their social value.