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Week 1 Lecture:Introduction to international organisations
Pease (2013) Chapter 1: Introduction
What are international organisations? What is their future? Whose interests do they serve?
How do their activities affect individuals, groups or societies? In this book it is recognized that
international organisations are part of a complex web. To trace this web we employ five
theoretical frameworks as a means of approaching the subject:
- Feminism
- Constructionism
- Realism
- Liberalism
- Marxism
A theory is a set of generalized principles that have descriptive, explanatory, and predictive
value.
Theoretical frameworks are based on organizing assumptions that simplify the world and
guide analysis. They are built upon worldviews but are more rigorous because they become
mechanisms for hypotheses, explanations and predictions about world politics. They are
quite similar to world views:
They both serve as mental maps, providing guides as to how the world works. But
worldviews are more informal: values, norms and culture.
What is an international organisation?
There is no clear answer to that question. Traditionally, international organisations have been
conceived as formal institutions whose members are states. Such organisations are called
IGO’s. They are called so because governments of nation states:
- voluntarily join
- Contribute to financing
- Make decisions within the organisation
They also have:
- Governments as their formal members
Their purposes, structures and decision-making procedures are spelled out in a charter or
treaty.
Examples are:
- NATO
- EU
- UN
- The league of Arab States
The rules of membership may differ. For example the UN accepts everyone if:
- They are a peace-loving state
- Accept and are willing to carry out the obligations contained in the present charter
If they have these then they have to petition to the UN security council who will make a
recommendation. Then the General Assembly will be make the final decision. Membership
can be quite political but the UN has practised an open-door policy.
IGO’s may also have limited membership, participation is restricted by some objective
criteria. For example:
- the league of Arab states is a voluntary association for all states who mainly speak
Arabic.
- NATO, limits its membership by restricting it to a combination of specific political,
geographical and military considerations.
1
,IGO’s can be either multi- or general-purpose organisations. General-purpose IGO’s like UN,
consider a variety of international issues that affect their members. IGO’s can also have a
more narrow mandate and thus focus on specific economic or social issues. For example:
World Health Organisation (WHO). These specialised IG’s provide focused and expert
analysis to very specific international issues.
The legal context of IGO’s
IGO’s have a special legal status under international law in that they have international
legal personality. Which means that IGO’s have the capacity to act under international law.
In order to achieve this:
- The organisation must be an permanent association of states
- These states must possess some power that is distinct form that of its member states,
with that power being exercised at the international level.
The international legal personality of an IGO is usually established through a constitutive
treaty, which is the charter of the IGO.
When a charter or treaty does not explicitly confer international legal personality, it can be
conferred by case law. The legal personality of the UN was established in the famous
Reparation for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations (1949) case.
Scholars sought to explain why some international organizations seemed to function well in
non-politicized issue areas. These functionalist analyses showed that cooperation in the
non-political (economic and social) spheres could “spill over” into highly politicized areas
such as security. Spill-over is thought to foster the integration of societies into a single
economic and political community.
Nongovernmental organization: essentially non-profit, private organizations that engage in
a variety of international activities. They can be oriented toward a single issue or can have a
multipurpose agenda. NGOs participate in international politics by defining goals, providing
information and giving expert advice.
Multinational corporation (MNC) are for-profit 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.
Global governance: the international organizations (IGOs, NGOs, MNCs) Global
governances focuses on how state and non-state actors (such as the international
organizations) define and address global problems absent a world government.
International law When we speak of making and sustaining international rules or codifying
international norms or values, we’re talking about creating international law. International law
refers to the formal rules and principles that govern the relations of states and international
organizations.
The legal personality of IGOs forms a constitutive treaty agreed upon by states. NGOs and
MNCs are objects of international law in that their activities are affected by international legal
regulations. At the same time. IGOs, NGOs and MNCs shape international law by promoting
values and norms and pressuring the governments of states.
LECTURE 1:
What are international organisations:
There are 76 thousand international organisations.
A formal, continuous structure established by agreement between members from at least 2
sovereign states with the aim of pursuing the common interest of the membership – Archer.
= traditional
It is traditional because it only focuses on nation states (sovereign states).
2
,What goes beyond borders is transnational. Think of NGO’s or multinationals. Governments
often control less resources than transnational actors. Organisations often have more money
than the government.
NOT ONLY ABOUT STATE.
The state’s power withers = lessen
Organisations gain more power, governance is more a joint agreement.
International organisations:
- More collective, if you are a member it can change your status in the world
- They have an impact of other global actors
- If you are a member of a system it restricts your freedom, limits your movement.
Members of EU uphold the laws from the EU and can’t overrule it.
- Transnational actors and governments fill up international organisations
Multinational corporations:
- Branches in at least 2 different countries
- Ability to transfer means they can evade laws. Environmental laws can make a
company move.
- It also means that is restrains governments in regulations and taxation
Non-governmental organisations:
- Global economy
- Governments have difficulty limiting the information flow.
- Improvements in communications make transnational operation cheaper
- ECOSOC – economic and social counsel
Non-legitimate groups and liberation movements
- Effective action against transnational crime is difficult;
- Shifts problems of domestic policy into the realm of global politics;
- Terrorism national or transnational, but it is not a single political force…
- Violent groups generally don’t achieve legitimacy (Sinn Fein?);
- Sometimes recognized as national liberation movements (Hamas?
Vietcong?).
Week 2 Lecture:
History & Structure of International Governmental Organisations
Pease (2013) Chapter 2: Nuts and Bolts
Whilst they do not exist in the political vacuum the structures and procedures of international
organisations can, and often do, affect political outcomes.
Historical antecedents
The idea of international organisations has been around since the start of the first
governments. Even in ancient Greece people spoke of military alliances and trading
agreements ergo international cooperation. However most contemporary scholars point to
the congress of Vienna (1815-1822) as the earliest modern precedent to today’s IGO’s. The
congress of Vienna was established by the great European powers to establish order and
stability on the continent after the Napoleonic wars.
League of nations
The league of nations if the first IGO with universal membership (1919-1939). It was created
after the first world war and had three main bodies: The Council, the Assembly, and the
Secretariat.
Council:
- Consisted of the victors of WW1
3
, - Chief executive body
- They invited 4 other lesser powers
- Responsible for addressing issues relating to international war and threats to peace
Assembly:
- Functioned as quasi legislative body
- Also entitled to address issues within the purview of the league
- All members belonged to the assembly
- Each member could have up to three representatives
Secretariat:
- Served as the league’s bureaucracy
- Responsible for carrying out the league’s policies and mandates
The permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) and The International Labor
Organization (ILO) were created to help member states meet their obligations under the
League’s Charter. PCIJ considered disputes that arose regarding treaty interpretation or
breaches of international obligations. The ILO made sure that members states met their
social responsibilities towards workers. The successor of the league of nations is the United
Nations, the UN incorporated the three principles that the league of nations was based on.
The three principles are:
1. The idea of collective security, international security is directly tied to the security of
the member states.
2. The league established as a norm the peaceful settlement of disputes through such
nonviolent measures as mediation, negotiation, arbitration, and adjunction.
3. The league was founded to foster international cooperation in the economic and
social realms.
The ideals of the league were innovative and heavily influenced by American values.
However the United states decided to not join, a decision which is considered to have
compromised the league’s effectiveness during interwar period.
The United Nations
The UN was created in 1945, the founders sought to strengthen the idea of the league of
nations. Its central purposes are:
- Maintain peace and security
- To develop friendly relations among nations
- To promote respect for universal human rights
The UN has six main organs: The general assembly, the security council, the international
court of justice, the economic and social council, the secretariat, and the trusteeship. These
six organs together with its several agencies and autonomous organisations comprise the
UN, collectively they address nearly every conceivable issue, war, disorder, trade etc.
The General assembly
Serves as a quasi-legislative, deliberative body. The GA has five legal (jure) functions that
are assigned by the UN.
1. GA may deliberate and consider any issue or questions that may arise under the
charter. Recommendations are nonbinding. They do however address issues that
relate to international peace, security, disarmament and possible breaches of peace.
2. Responsible for initiating studies and making recommendations for promoting political
cooperation and the progressive development of international law.
3. Responsible for promoting international cooperation in the economic, social, cultural,
educational, and health care fields.
4. charged with drafting and approving the UN budget
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