International organizations
Perspecti ves on Global governance (7th edition)
Chapter 1 – Introduction
IO’s are part of an ensemble cast of actors on the world stage. On national level, politics
involves a competition among individuals and groups (pol. Parties, special interests,
corporations) to either gain control of the government or influence government officials. At
the global level, world politics involves different kinds of actors competing to shape the
values and determine the distribution resources for the international community, usually
through the application of power and influence and building consensus. IO’s are both the sites
where world politics take place as independent actors competing with others to establish
values, rules and norms for the international community.
What is an international organization?
Traditionally they are formal institutions whose principal members are states: political and
geographical entities that represent a population within a defined territory. States posses
sovereignty, they have the final say with their territorial jurisdiction. States can create IO’s to
help address collective problems, these are intergovernmental organizations (IGO’s)
because governments voluntarily join, contribute financing, and decisions-making procedures
are clearly spelled out in a charter or treaty (NATO, UN, EU etc.).
They are further categorised by rules of membership and purpose:
Universal: all states may join (UN)
Limited: participation restricted by some objective criteria (Arab league for Arabic
speaking countries).
Multi- or general-purpose: they can take up any international issues
General-purpose: consider a variety of issues that affect their members
Narrow mandates: focus on specific eco or social issues (WTO), these specialized
IGOs provide focused and expert analysis to specific issues.
IGOs often have a special status under international law: international legal personality,
they have the capacity to act under international law. To attain this, the organization must be a
permanent association of states that possesses some power that is distinct from that of its
member states, with that power being exercised at the international level. This enables them to
act in a manner similar to states, they can reach international agreements with other IGOs and
states. They have many of the same legal privileges of states, such as legal immunity or right
to sue in national courts. The international legal personality of an IGO is established through a
constitutive treaty, the charter of the IGO. When a charter/treaty doesn’t confer international
legal personality, it can be conferred by case law. The legal personality of the UN was
established in the Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the UN case, through
an advisory opinion by the ICJ.
Another type of IO’s is the nongovernmental organization (NGO), they are nonprofit,
private organizations that engage in a variety of international activities. Either single issue or
multipurpose agenda. They participate in international politics by defining goals, creating
norms, providing information, and giving expert advice. They also directly and indirectly
pressure states and IGO’s. they often receive funding from governments, but their activities
are autonomous and may be coordinated independently with IGO’s.
,Another kind is the multinational corporation (MNC), for-profit economic firms that have
subsidiaries in two or more countries and engage in transnational production activities
involving the movement of goods and services across national boundaries. These command
extensive resources whose assets can rival that of states (Apple). They have specific interests
and preferences that they pursue in local, provincial, national, regional, and global politics.
These are often distinct from those of states, IGO’s and NGO’s.
The term IO thus refers to different kinds of actors, and also refers to the institutions,
processes, norms, laws and regulations that are part and parcel of global governance. Global
gov. focuses on how state and nonstate actors define and address global problems in the
absence of a world gov. It also involves making and sustaining the rules and norms of world
order. The substance of word politics is about whose interests, values and preferences become
formalized and why. This is related to international law, that refers to the formal rules and
principles that govern the relations of states and IO’s. these laws must be created by states
formally through treaties or informally through custom. It must also be enforced by states and
Ios, it works reasonably well most of the time.
The nexus of international law an IO’s has several dimensions. The legal personality of IGO’s
comes from a constitutive treaty agreed upon by states. IGOs also play a central role in
helping states implement international agreements and following through on states’
international obligations. NGO’s and MNC’s are objects of international law in that their
activities are affected by international legal regulation. At the same time, IGOs, NGOs and
MNCs shape international law by promoting values and norms and pressuring governments.
Global gov. involves this interplay of international law and organizations, but the “nature” of
global gov remains contested.
Organization of the text
International relations theory is a way of systemizing and comprehending world politics.
Theoretical frameworks are based on organizing assumptions/propositions that simplify the
world. They are similar to worldviews (wet of widely held beliefs): both serve as mental
maps as to how the world works, but worldviews are more informal. Theoretical frameworks
are mechanisms for methodically generating hypotheses, explanations, and predictions about
world politics. Through theoretical lenses there are different explanations regarding which
units of analysis (states, individuals, class or gender) should figure most prominently in our
understanding of international relations and organizations. These allow us to examine
particular kinds or international dynamics (anarchy, interdependence, capitalism, and
patriarchy). They reveal different patterns and provide divergent interpretations regarding the
nature and roles of IO’s and prescribe different strategies for addressing global problems.
Worldviews form the basis of competing political narratives, explanations of events and facts
and how they relate to each other. These emerge out of political discourse to advocate and
build support for policies or actions.
Realism
Realism conceives of world politics as essentially conflictual:
World politics revolves around sovereign states seeking power and exercising power
against each other.
States exist in a hostile, dangerous world that forces them to prepare for violent
conflict.
The state is the principal unit of analysis. Nonstate actors are less important since they
are responsible to the state or vulnerable to state action.
, Relations between states are “international relations” for realists. States seek to
survive and maximize their competing national interests in an uncertain and dangerous
world. Resource scarcity and threat of violent attack guarantee contentious world
politics.
Anarchy: the absence of a higher authority or world gov. The international system is
organized around sovereign states whose governments have jurisdiction within their
territorial boundaries. The absence of a higher authority requires states to engage in
“self-help” to guarantee their security and pursue other national interests. These
interests collide between states since they have differences in preferred outcomes
leading to conflict. states seek power since that can maximize their interests,
promote their values and guarantee their security.
They point to the distribution of capabilities as the main source of order in the
international system. Through the hierarchy of power, realists explain the creation of
IO’s and their role in maintain international order and fostering cooperation.
According to the hegemonic stability theory, world order is established by a single
power that creates and maintains IO’s, these serve the interests of the hegemon and
legitimize its position. The hegemon will support IO’s as long as the gains outweigh
the costs. Others join these organization since the hegemon bears the costs and is able
to provide positive incentives and inducements. States will belong to and use IO’s if it
is in their interest to do so, but they will ignore or undermine them otherwise.
Order and stability are based on a hegemon’s power, if that wanes so does the world
order.
Pessimistic about independent role of IO’s in fostering cooperation among sovereign
states, it’s the hegemons power reflected in IO’s that facilitates cooperation.
The interests and behaviour of Ios must be understood in context of interests of
dominant states. IO’s are IGO’s which are the sum of their member states. NGO and
MNCs have home states they are responsible to or have similar interests.
Global gov. is a great power concert facilitated by IO’s
Liberalism
Liberalism maintains a strong belief in the value of the individual, the idea of limited gov.,
the market and the rule of law:
Tends to be optimistic about prospect for cooperative relations between societies:
much of international relations is based on peaceful exchange of goods, services and
ideas among societies. They are shaped by important eco and social transactions.
Non state actors are also important actors in international relations. Some see the state
a fluid entity, an aggregation of competing individuals and interests within a society.
Many of these interests have transnational ties that extent beyond a state’s borders.
The governments of states can be composed of executive, legislative, judicial and
bureaucratic agents that have personal and sectoral interests. These factors can
influence the decision-making process as much as international considerations.
Rationality cant be assumed, given that different influences on the gov. can lead to
suboptimal decisions.
International relations as a combination of cooperation and conflict. Humans are self-
interested, but also cooperative economic creatures. The instinct to truck, barter and
trade draw humans together in a market that generates wealth and prosperity but also
creates complex interdependence. Societies come to rely on each other for security
and eco well-being, and that reliance provides incentives for actors to cooperate with
each other, it reduces the likelihood of violent conflict since the cost of war becomes
too high.
, Some see IGOs as early institutions of world gov., they are evolving into supranational
organizations that exercise a great deal of authority. Others see IGOs as mechanisms
that assist govs in overcoming collective action problems and help settle conflicts.
They are important actors cooperating with govs and acting independently.
Global gov is based on the interaction of several kinds of actors competing and
working to define and promote the collective good and address global problems.
Marxism
Critical theories challenge the “conventional wisdom” and provide alternative frameworks for
understanding how the world works. the Marxist perspective is distinguished by its attention
to modes of production and economic forces that shape international life. Emphasizes eco and
pol inequality in international relations, an inequality that leads to superior-subordinate
relationships result in violent an nonviolent international conflict.
Capitalism is defining feature of international system
o Way of producting goods based on: private property, profit motive, wage
labour and markets
o Maximize profits in competitive global market determines position and
behaviour of actors. affect individuals and societies
Eco class as principal unit of analysis. Class: a persons relationship to the means of
production. Actors distinguish by role in production of goods and services worldwide.
Bourgeoisie (owners of means of production) and proletariat (salaried and wage-
earning workers).
Core states (advanced industrial countries) provide capital and finance. Periphery
states (developing) provide cheap raw material and unskilled labour. Semi periphery
states (newly industrial) provide offshore sourcing and inexpensive skilled labour.
results in productions of goods and services for global market, yet distribution of
benefits and costs is unequal.
International relations conflictual since capitalism is based on exploitation (resources,
markets and labour to maximize profit). breed social, political and economic
inequality.
Division between rich and poor visible everywhere.
Eco factors most important for understanding domestic and international politics.
Govs are reflections of dominant eco class, this class formalizes its interest as the
interests of society as a whole. To explain everything you have to understand the
nature of contemporary capitalism
Nature of IO’s determined by underlying eco order. Contemporary IGOs reflect,
legitimize and promote global capitalism.
International financial institutions, as the world bank and the IMF are mechanisms of
capitalist domination. They pry open markets, forcing privatization and encouraging
foreign investment. MNCs entangle societies in a malignant web of dependency that
causes underdevelopment and a gross maldistribution of wealth within and between
societies.
Capitalism expands under the guise of promoting global eco and social welfare
Feminism
Feminism examines international relations and IOs through the lens of gender: world politics
in terms of how women are affected and how gender inequalities and biases influence
contemporary international relations theory. It examines the statues, roles and contributions of
women in IOs and seeks to understand how the actions and policies impact women.
Perspecti ves on Global governance (7th edition)
Chapter 1 – Introduction
IO’s are part of an ensemble cast of actors on the world stage. On national level, politics
involves a competition among individuals and groups (pol. Parties, special interests,
corporations) to either gain control of the government or influence government officials. At
the global level, world politics involves different kinds of actors competing to shape the
values and determine the distribution resources for the international community, usually
through the application of power and influence and building consensus. IO’s are both the sites
where world politics take place as independent actors competing with others to establish
values, rules and norms for the international community.
What is an international organization?
Traditionally they are formal institutions whose principal members are states: political and
geographical entities that represent a population within a defined territory. States posses
sovereignty, they have the final say with their territorial jurisdiction. States can create IO’s to
help address collective problems, these are intergovernmental organizations (IGO’s)
because governments voluntarily join, contribute financing, and decisions-making procedures
are clearly spelled out in a charter or treaty (NATO, UN, EU etc.).
They are further categorised by rules of membership and purpose:
Universal: all states may join (UN)
Limited: participation restricted by some objective criteria (Arab league for Arabic
speaking countries).
Multi- or general-purpose: they can take up any international issues
General-purpose: consider a variety of issues that affect their members
Narrow mandates: focus on specific eco or social issues (WTO), these specialized
IGOs provide focused and expert analysis to specific issues.
IGOs often have a special status under international law: international legal personality,
they have the capacity to act under international law. To attain this, the organization must be a
permanent association of states that possesses some power that is distinct from that of its
member states, with that power being exercised at the international level. This enables them to
act in a manner similar to states, they can reach international agreements with other IGOs and
states. They have many of the same legal privileges of states, such as legal immunity or right
to sue in national courts. The international legal personality of an IGO is established through a
constitutive treaty, the charter of the IGO. When a charter/treaty doesn’t confer international
legal personality, it can be conferred by case law. The legal personality of the UN was
established in the Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the UN case, through
an advisory opinion by the ICJ.
Another type of IO’s is the nongovernmental organization (NGO), they are nonprofit,
private organizations that engage in a variety of international activities. Either single issue or
multipurpose agenda. They participate in international politics by defining goals, creating
norms, providing information, and giving expert advice. They also directly and indirectly
pressure states and IGO’s. they often receive funding from governments, but their activities
are autonomous and may be coordinated independently with IGO’s.
,Another kind is the multinational corporation (MNC), for-profit economic firms that have
subsidiaries in two or more countries and engage in transnational production activities
involving the movement of goods and services across national boundaries. These command
extensive resources whose assets can rival that of states (Apple). They have specific interests
and preferences that they pursue in local, provincial, national, regional, and global politics.
These are often distinct from those of states, IGO’s and NGO’s.
The term IO thus refers to different kinds of actors, and also refers to the institutions,
processes, norms, laws and regulations that are part and parcel of global governance. Global
gov. focuses on how state and nonstate actors define and address global problems in the
absence of a world gov. It also involves making and sustaining the rules and norms of world
order. The substance of word politics is about whose interests, values and preferences become
formalized and why. This is related to international law, that refers to the formal rules and
principles that govern the relations of states and IO’s. these laws must be created by states
formally through treaties or informally through custom. It must also be enforced by states and
Ios, it works reasonably well most of the time.
The nexus of international law an IO’s has several dimensions. The legal personality of IGO’s
comes from a constitutive treaty agreed upon by states. IGOs also play a central role in
helping states implement international agreements and following through on states’
international obligations. NGO’s and MNC’s are objects of international law in that their
activities are affected by international legal regulation. At the same time, IGOs, NGOs and
MNCs shape international law by promoting values and norms and pressuring governments.
Global gov. involves this interplay of international law and organizations, but the “nature” of
global gov remains contested.
Organization of the text
International relations theory is a way of systemizing and comprehending world politics.
Theoretical frameworks are based on organizing assumptions/propositions that simplify the
world. They are similar to worldviews (wet of widely held beliefs): both serve as mental
maps as to how the world works, but worldviews are more informal. Theoretical frameworks
are mechanisms for methodically generating hypotheses, explanations, and predictions about
world politics. Through theoretical lenses there are different explanations regarding which
units of analysis (states, individuals, class or gender) should figure most prominently in our
understanding of international relations and organizations. These allow us to examine
particular kinds or international dynamics (anarchy, interdependence, capitalism, and
patriarchy). They reveal different patterns and provide divergent interpretations regarding the
nature and roles of IO’s and prescribe different strategies for addressing global problems.
Worldviews form the basis of competing political narratives, explanations of events and facts
and how they relate to each other. These emerge out of political discourse to advocate and
build support for policies or actions.
Realism
Realism conceives of world politics as essentially conflictual:
World politics revolves around sovereign states seeking power and exercising power
against each other.
States exist in a hostile, dangerous world that forces them to prepare for violent
conflict.
The state is the principal unit of analysis. Nonstate actors are less important since they
are responsible to the state or vulnerable to state action.
, Relations between states are “international relations” for realists. States seek to
survive and maximize their competing national interests in an uncertain and dangerous
world. Resource scarcity and threat of violent attack guarantee contentious world
politics.
Anarchy: the absence of a higher authority or world gov. The international system is
organized around sovereign states whose governments have jurisdiction within their
territorial boundaries. The absence of a higher authority requires states to engage in
“self-help” to guarantee their security and pursue other national interests. These
interests collide between states since they have differences in preferred outcomes
leading to conflict. states seek power since that can maximize their interests,
promote their values and guarantee their security.
They point to the distribution of capabilities as the main source of order in the
international system. Through the hierarchy of power, realists explain the creation of
IO’s and their role in maintain international order and fostering cooperation.
According to the hegemonic stability theory, world order is established by a single
power that creates and maintains IO’s, these serve the interests of the hegemon and
legitimize its position. The hegemon will support IO’s as long as the gains outweigh
the costs. Others join these organization since the hegemon bears the costs and is able
to provide positive incentives and inducements. States will belong to and use IO’s if it
is in their interest to do so, but they will ignore or undermine them otherwise.
Order and stability are based on a hegemon’s power, if that wanes so does the world
order.
Pessimistic about independent role of IO’s in fostering cooperation among sovereign
states, it’s the hegemons power reflected in IO’s that facilitates cooperation.
The interests and behaviour of Ios must be understood in context of interests of
dominant states. IO’s are IGO’s which are the sum of their member states. NGO and
MNCs have home states they are responsible to or have similar interests.
Global gov. is a great power concert facilitated by IO’s
Liberalism
Liberalism maintains a strong belief in the value of the individual, the idea of limited gov.,
the market and the rule of law:
Tends to be optimistic about prospect for cooperative relations between societies:
much of international relations is based on peaceful exchange of goods, services and
ideas among societies. They are shaped by important eco and social transactions.
Non state actors are also important actors in international relations. Some see the state
a fluid entity, an aggregation of competing individuals and interests within a society.
Many of these interests have transnational ties that extent beyond a state’s borders.
The governments of states can be composed of executive, legislative, judicial and
bureaucratic agents that have personal and sectoral interests. These factors can
influence the decision-making process as much as international considerations.
Rationality cant be assumed, given that different influences on the gov. can lead to
suboptimal decisions.
International relations as a combination of cooperation and conflict. Humans are self-
interested, but also cooperative economic creatures. The instinct to truck, barter and
trade draw humans together in a market that generates wealth and prosperity but also
creates complex interdependence. Societies come to rely on each other for security
and eco well-being, and that reliance provides incentives for actors to cooperate with
each other, it reduces the likelihood of violent conflict since the cost of war becomes
too high.
, Some see IGOs as early institutions of world gov., they are evolving into supranational
organizations that exercise a great deal of authority. Others see IGOs as mechanisms
that assist govs in overcoming collective action problems and help settle conflicts.
They are important actors cooperating with govs and acting independently.
Global gov is based on the interaction of several kinds of actors competing and
working to define and promote the collective good and address global problems.
Marxism
Critical theories challenge the “conventional wisdom” and provide alternative frameworks for
understanding how the world works. the Marxist perspective is distinguished by its attention
to modes of production and economic forces that shape international life. Emphasizes eco and
pol inequality in international relations, an inequality that leads to superior-subordinate
relationships result in violent an nonviolent international conflict.
Capitalism is defining feature of international system
o Way of producting goods based on: private property, profit motive, wage
labour and markets
o Maximize profits in competitive global market determines position and
behaviour of actors. affect individuals and societies
Eco class as principal unit of analysis. Class: a persons relationship to the means of
production. Actors distinguish by role in production of goods and services worldwide.
Bourgeoisie (owners of means of production) and proletariat (salaried and wage-
earning workers).
Core states (advanced industrial countries) provide capital and finance. Periphery
states (developing) provide cheap raw material and unskilled labour. Semi periphery
states (newly industrial) provide offshore sourcing and inexpensive skilled labour.
results in productions of goods and services for global market, yet distribution of
benefits and costs is unequal.
International relations conflictual since capitalism is based on exploitation (resources,
markets and labour to maximize profit). breed social, political and economic
inequality.
Division between rich and poor visible everywhere.
Eco factors most important for understanding domestic and international politics.
Govs are reflections of dominant eco class, this class formalizes its interest as the
interests of society as a whole. To explain everything you have to understand the
nature of contemporary capitalism
Nature of IO’s determined by underlying eco order. Contemporary IGOs reflect,
legitimize and promote global capitalism.
International financial institutions, as the world bank and the IMF are mechanisms of
capitalist domination. They pry open markets, forcing privatization and encouraging
foreign investment. MNCs entangle societies in a malignant web of dependency that
causes underdevelopment and a gross maldistribution of wealth within and between
societies.
Capitalism expands under the guise of promoting global eco and social welfare
Feminism
Feminism examines international relations and IOs through the lens of gender: world politics
in terms of how women are affected and how gender inequalities and biases influence
contemporary international relations theory. It examines the statues, roles and contributions of
women in IOs and seeks to understand how the actions and policies impact women.
