POL 3111

International Organizations

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Why States Act through Formal IOs?

By-product of the nation-state system

Internationalization
Globalization
Conflict and cooperation on the international
scale
Reducing conflict and enhancing cooperation

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How

to provide for human security

How to facilitate social development
How to protect and advance human rights

Organizing an international order

As an alternative to international anarchy

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The sovereign state - key organizing
principle of the global society
The nation-state is considered the normal
political unit
Empires are no longer legitimate
State sovereignty under question

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Inequalities

of power among states

Concert of Great Powers

The Superpowers
Nuclear vs. non-nuclear states
Core periphery economic disparity

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Point de depart 19 th century

(navigation, telecommunication, human rights, labor
laws)
Universal Postal Union
International Red Cross/Red Crescent
National Labour Organization

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Word Health Organisation

Greenpeace
Amnesty International
Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without
Borders
The Trilateral Commission
North Atlantic Treaty Organization

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Types of international organizations:

By membership:
States: Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)
Global (UN, IMF))
Regional (NAFTA, EU, NATO)
Investors: Transnational corporations (TNCs)
Individuals: Civil society organizations (CSOs)
Legitimate
Illegitimate (terrorist groups, organized crime structures)

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Why States Act through Formal IOs?
Wide spectrum of activities:
fact finding
early warning
preventive deployment
mediation
adjudication and other form of dispute

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resolutions
peacekeeping
sanctions
military force
money lending
Two functional characteristics:

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Centralization
concrete, stable organizational
structure and supportive
administrative apparatus
increased efficiency

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Independence
degree of autonomy within defined
spheres
capacity to operate in a neutral
position in disputes

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Objective:
IOs create information, ideas, norms and
expectations, to carry out and to
encourage specific activities.
IO legitimize or delegitimize particular
ideas and practices and enhance their
capacity and power.

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Functional similarities:
Large private firms.
Large firms benefit by granting autonomy and
supervision authority to professional managers.
Famous quote (separation of ownership and
control). Supervision through corporate
shareholders meetings.

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Institutional perspective:
States - primary actors in world politics
and they use IOs to create social ordering,
appropriate to their pursuit of shared
goals.

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I. Centralization
1). Support for state interaction
stable negotiating forum
fast response to sudden
developments (UN Security Council)

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IOs provide
Neutral, depoliticized or
specialized forums more effectively
than almost any informal or
decentralized arrangements.

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Nuclear issues (IAEA during the Cold

War) without the direct intrusion of
high politics.
OECD (200 specialized Committees)
Security Council Secretariat

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Logistics:
IO personnel coordinate and structure
agendas, provide background research,
and promote successful negotiations.
Dissemination of information
(OECD, WB)

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2). Managing Substantive Operations
World Bank
finances massive (in billions $US)
developmental projects
reviews state investment projects
provides technical assistance and training
in many disciplines.

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3). Pooling
burden sharing of activities, assets or
risks.
Polling of national contributions and
cost sharing.
Economies of scale provide operational
efficiencies.

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Rational prioritization of needs.
WHO smallpox campaign a single
global campaign against a contagious
disease is more effective than
decentralized efforts because the
global scope avoids gaps in coverage.
IAEA - same nuclear safeguards.

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4.) Joint Production
Centralized hierarchical organization
where workers, managers and other
input work in teams.
Avoid duplication and unproductive
duplication.

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Shorter venue to the stakeholders (the states).
Supervision on behalf of the member
states.
Best example:
NATO integrated command
teamwork par excellence

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5). Norm Elaboration and Coordination
Cooperative relationship through
agreements.
Creates procedures for the
elaboration of norms, standards, and
processes within an IO thus
enhancing cooperation.

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Directives, regulations, and other
legislative acts
from telecommunications to tax policy
via interstate agreements and mutual
recognition.
EU bureaucratic jungle
CODEX Codex Alimentaruis Commission

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II. Independance
1). Support for Direct State Intervention
Independent IOs promote intergovernmental
cooperation in more proactive ways:
UN Security Council
UN Secretary General is the point de depart,
the core, not the states if the matter in his
opinion threatens the international peace.

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2). Managing Substantive Operations
The convenience of an independent
third party:
IMF/WB
core peripheral countries
may not carry the same domestic political
implications.

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Security operations
IAEA monitors experts from UK/USA
In the case of Iran, Iraq
Being clean is essential
UN bureaucrats (loyalty vis-a-vis individual
states)
New brand IO bureaucrats Eurocrats
higher loyalty re EU project than individual
states.

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3). Neutrality
Adds impartiality to independence
Enables states to mediate in
contested interactions and demands
that institutions be buffered from the
direct pressures of states.

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4). IOs as a neutral information
provider
(free of national biases)
in politically charged situations
WMD - Iraq

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5). IO as a trustee
UN Security Council held Iraq responsible
for compensating Kuwait
Iraq contributed a percentage of its oil
export revenues UN managed fund.
Oil for Food program
UN peace keeping

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6). IO as an Arbiter
International Court of Justice
European Court

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7). IO as an Honest Broker
Chapter VI of the UN Charter
Traditional measures: mediation,
conciliation and fact finding to resolve
international peace and security disputes.

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8). IO as Community Representative
IO as Community Representative

inclusive:

General Assembly
consensual process common ideas/ values
Representative: Security Council
representation of states interests

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community institutions
promoting independence and neutrality
International Court of Justice based on
community policies/principle

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9. IOs as Managers of Enforcement
ILO - labor practices: national reporting
UK, USSR.
IMF national economic policies
Chapter VII
(Korea and the Gulf War, led by US)

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Taxonomy of decision making process in IO

Group of 10 industrialized European countries + Canada,
US
International Organizations:
International Labor Organization (ILO)
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO)
World Health Organization (WHO)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
International Monetary Fund (IMF)

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Individuals who directly involved in decision

making within international organizations (the
actors in decision making) were classified into
the following categories:
(a) representatives of national governments;
(b) representatives of national and international
private associations;

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(c) the executive heads of the
organizations;
(d) high officials and other members of the
bureaucracy of each organization;
(e) individuals who serve in their own
capacity formally or informally as
advisers;

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(f) representatives of other international
organizations; and
(g) employees of the mass media.

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Results:
I) first four categories
active in decision making in all of the
organizations.

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II) fifth and sixth categories
active in some of the organizations some
of the time
III) final category
virtually no role
reflecting the minimal attention of the
public opinion

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Hegemony and International
Organizations
Institutions are visible. Hegemony is
invisible, a latent force that can be only be
seized intellectually
Representatives of national governments influential in symbolic, representational,
and rule-creating decisions

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Executive heads - particularly influential in

boundary and programmatic decisions.

Members of international bureaucracies

were more influential in operational
decisions that in programmatic ones.

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Who is making decisions?
Foreign policy directors
powerful states
assessment of the status of hegemony

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Special interest groups

(private and public) transcend national
boundaries
privileged forums for trans governmental
relations.
Objective transnational economiccorporative solidarity

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empathetic neutral
heads of IO - relatively free from
constraints and being able to understand
competing/conflicting viewpoints and
interests.
Public opinion
civil society discourse