Why is the effectiveness of international institutions often limited?
As political and social animals, we humans tend to respond to collective problems by
creating institutions, which are tools for defining roles, regulating activities, and
achieving common goals. International regimes can be defined as ‘social institutions
consisting of agreed-upon principles, norms, rules, procedures, and programs that
govern the interactions of actors in specific issue areas’ (Levy et al., 1995). They are
aimed at managing particular problems. The creation of international institutions is
one of the most remarkable attempts in addressing world affairs and achieving world
peace. International institutions have many of the characteristics of liberalism,
however, it has yet to fulfil its goal of making the global community a more
prosperous place. In another word, the effectiveness of international institutions is
often limited.
Many attempts have been made to establish an effective international institution that
would be capable of integrating and promoting cooperation among its members. The
United Nations has become the most significant international institution up till now,
which makes it the most suitable research subject. Also worth mentioning is that other
international institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund,
and Group of 20 help a lot in promoting global peace by means of providing
economic stability, cooperation as well as growth. In order to better understand the
question, this essay will mainly focus on the United Nations. The UN has 192
1
, member states, which means it is aligned with every sovereign country on the planet,
making it the most widely represented institution to analyse.
The 1919 Versailles Peace Conference, where representatives of the victorious
countries of World War I met to compose a treaty that would bring peace to Europe,
marked the rise of international institutions (Archer, 2001). The founding of a league
that would promote cooperation, peace, and security around the world ignited a lot of
discussions. And as a result, this idea failed due to lack of support, as it favoured the
allied states and failed to interfere in conflict situations (Archer, 2001). However, a
new international system emerged in 1945. Shortly after World War II, states of the
world assembled to establish a common international institution for the purpose of
preventing major conflicts from breaking out again and achieving global peace.
Therefore, the United Nations was established. Under the leadership of the world’s
major powers, states come together to build and maintain common international
peace, uphold international law, protect and promote human rights around the world,
resolve global environmental issues, and deal with fundamental challenges to global
security (Hanhimäki, 2008). The United Nations supports “democratic governments,
economic interdependence” and is served “as means to overcome the security
dilemma of the international system” (Dunne et al., 2010).
However, the effectiveness of the UN has been questioned for a long time by
International Relations scholars, especially by realists. The UN’s function in the
2
As political and social animals, we humans tend to respond to collective problems by
creating institutions, which are tools for defining roles, regulating activities, and
achieving common goals. International regimes can be defined as ‘social institutions
consisting of agreed-upon principles, norms, rules, procedures, and programs that
govern the interactions of actors in specific issue areas’ (Levy et al., 1995). They are
aimed at managing particular problems. The creation of international institutions is
one of the most remarkable attempts in addressing world affairs and achieving world
peace. International institutions have many of the characteristics of liberalism,
however, it has yet to fulfil its goal of making the global community a more
prosperous place. In another word, the effectiveness of international institutions is
often limited.
Many attempts have been made to establish an effective international institution that
would be capable of integrating and promoting cooperation among its members. The
United Nations has become the most significant international institution up till now,
which makes it the most suitable research subject. Also worth mentioning is that other
international institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund,
and Group of 20 help a lot in promoting global peace by means of providing
economic stability, cooperation as well as growth. In order to better understand the
question, this essay will mainly focus on the United Nations. The UN has 192
1
, member states, which means it is aligned with every sovereign country on the planet,
making it the most widely represented institution to analyse.
The 1919 Versailles Peace Conference, where representatives of the victorious
countries of World War I met to compose a treaty that would bring peace to Europe,
marked the rise of international institutions (Archer, 2001). The founding of a league
that would promote cooperation, peace, and security around the world ignited a lot of
discussions. And as a result, this idea failed due to lack of support, as it favoured the
allied states and failed to interfere in conflict situations (Archer, 2001). However, a
new international system emerged in 1945. Shortly after World War II, states of the
world assembled to establish a common international institution for the purpose of
preventing major conflicts from breaking out again and achieving global peace.
Therefore, the United Nations was established. Under the leadership of the world’s
major powers, states come together to build and maintain common international
peace, uphold international law, protect and promote human rights around the world,
resolve global environmental issues, and deal with fundamental challenges to global
security (Hanhimäki, 2008). The United Nations supports “democratic governments,
economic interdependence” and is served “as means to overcome the security
dilemma of the international system” (Dunne et al., 2010).
However, the effectiveness of the UN has been questioned for a long time by
International Relations scholars, especially by realists. The UN’s function in the
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