Abstract
Scholars in criminal justice, as in public administration, borrow their research paradigms from other fields. This has benefits and, of course, limitations. One benefit is to take advantage of rigorous explorations already conducted in the use of certain concepts and variables. Researchers in public administration and criminal justice, however, have largely ignored the scholarship in international organizations. This paper outlines the differing research approaches in international relations, paying particular attention to the neoliberal institutionalist paradigm. One focus of that paradigm is the analysis of emerging international agreements on policy issues. To date, little work has been done on emerging regimes in criminal justice. This paper sets out the research design and suggests potentially fruitful approaches to such research.