Researchers in public administration and criminal justice have largely ignored the scholarship in international organizations. This article outlines different research approaches in international relations, paying particular attention to the neoliberal institutionalist paradigm. In that view, conventions and expectations about the behavior of other nations matter more than national power and capabilities, a result of the complex interdependencies between nations. One focus of that paradigm is analysis of emerging international agreements on policy issues. The article also sets forth the research design for and potentially fruitful approaches to research in criminal justice. The central theoretical concept of value to criminal justice researchers is the notion of regime, the idea of a shared understanding. The article explores the regime theory as an approach to understanding emerging trends in international criminal justice policy and potential impacts on national concerns. Notes, table, references