Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

International pressure intended to encourage democratic reform can sometimes strengthen the very governments it seeks to hold to account, according to new research from The University of Manchester.

The study examined Zimbabwe's decision to withdraw from the Commonwealth in December 2003, finding that the move was driven less by a rejection of international institutions in principle than by the ruling party's determination to remain in power.

Why Zimbabwe left the Commonwealth

Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2002 amid concerns about its presidential election and democratic standards. When the suspension continued following a Commonwealth meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, in December 2003, President Robert Mugabe's government announced its withdrawal.

But the research, by Dr.…