International Administration
Week 1: Introduction to International Administration
Main question of this course: What international organizations and other mechanisms exist
for dealing with trans-boundary problems? How are the responses to these problems shaped
by administrative features of international organizations?
Case: Protests in Syria. This case showed that problems that seem far away, can also affect
us. National problems can easily turn into international problems.
International organizations have a role in addressing this problem. We should not
underestimate the influence they have. IOs have their own powers and resources.
Global governance: The collective efforts by states and an increasing variety of nonstate
actors to identify, understand and address various issues in today’s turbulent world. This type
of governance is global in scope. It is a patchwork of states, IOs, NGOs, transnational
networks, MNCs and social movements.
Governance (broad range of actors, formal and informal mechanisms) ≠ Government
(suggests one single coherent world order).
Why the need for global governance?
Trans-boundary problems: Problems that reach across national borders. States are not able
to solve these problems on their own. In order to do so, they need international cooperation.
There are different international organizations and mechanism for dealing with these
problems. The response is shaped by administrative features of these IOs and mechanisms.
Other reasons:
Globalization: ‘A historical process involving a fundamental shift or transformation in
the spatial scale of human social organization that links distant communities and
expands the reach of power relations across regions and continents’.
Technological changes: Revolutions in ICT, logistics, transport
End of the Cold War: Disintegration of the bipolar system and allied blocks
Transnationalism: global spread of social movements, political ideologies, regime
types.
Actors in global governance
1. States: The Treaty of Westphalia established a political order based on sovereign
states. The principle of sovereignty argues that states have authority over their own
territory and people. States have a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within
borders, and determine their own domestic policies. States should be free from
interference from supranational authorities. Every state is equal in the international
system.
Problems with sovereignty: One of the issues raised is whether states can do what
they want. In addition there is a difference in actual power of states and their capacity
(this could shift the balances in the international arena).
States have been especially important in building up IOs. They play a very big role in
the international realm. The increasing dependence can create trans-boundary issues
and problems because states are incapable of addressing these on their own. This is
why IOs and networks for cooperation are necessary.
, 2. Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs): These organizations have national
governments as members (for example the EU, NATO and UN). Their aim is to
address international problems such as war, poverty, epidemics or trade. They have
their own infrastructure (headquarters + staff + budget).
These IGOs have their own autonomy. Their bureaucracies have an important role to
play in how issues are defined.
There different types of IGOs: regional vs global +
specialized vs general
Organization of IGO:
- Assembly: Place where countries are represented
by their permanent representative.
- Council: Executive part, daily tasks. Only a part of
the representatives are in the council (as opposed to
the assembly)
- Court/Tribunal
- Secretariat/bureaucracy: Gather, analyze and spread information, provide a forum
for exchange of views and decision-making, define norms of behavior, draft legally
binding rules, monitor that rules are followed, enforce when not, provide operational
resources and personnel in crisis, generate ideas.
3. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs): Private organizations whose members are
individuals or associations. They can be either mass or elite organizations, with
different roles in international governance such as providing information/expertise,
raising awareness about an issue and putting pressure on governments/IGOs/MNCs.
4. Transnational networks: Regularly interacting governmental and nongovernmental
actors outside national boundaries. Loosely structured, very flexible organization.
Examples of tasks: supervision on trade, regulation of Internet. The
administration/secretariat is performed by one of the organizations in the network.
Power/authority in global governance
Power: The ability to make someone do something that is in your interest and that they would
otherwise not have done. There are two kinds of power: formal and informal power.
Formal power: The power of an organization on paper, as defined by treaties or principles of
international law.
Informal power: The actual ability to exercise influence in global governance, based on
organizational resources.
Global governance tend to use informal powers. It is not just about who actually has the
power, but rather about who can influence others. For many issues informal power might be
more effective than hard power.
Types of authority:
- Delegated authority
- Institutional authority
- Expert authority
- Moral authority
- Capacity-based authority
, Theoretical perspectives on international administration/global governance
1. Realism: States are the primary actors in the international system. States are
rational and self-interested (self-centered) actors. The states act to protect their own
interests, they seek to maximize their own power and security. It is based on anarchy:
there is an absence of international authority. There are few rules and norms that
restrain states. They say that there is international competition rather than
cooperation. “It’s a jungle out there”: States have to fight for their own interests
against other self-interested states. According to realists, international law and
organizations are weak and ineffective, because international agreements are not
enforceable. They argue that international organizations are the tools of states; they
have no authority of their own and have no independent effect on world politics. Non-
governmental organizations have no power on the international level.
2. Liberalism: States are important, but they are not the only actors in the international
system. State action is not only based on self-interest, but also on moral and ethical
principles. They argue that states care about peace, social progress and justice.
Liberalism believes that international cooperation is possible and that it will grow
over time. Interdependence leads to cooperation, which leads to international
peace and justice. They see international organizations as arenas where states
interact and cooperate to solve common problems. These international organizations
contribute to maintaining peace and order. Power still matters, but is exercised within
the framework of international rules and institutions. The focus is on the importance of
soft power. Non-governmental organizations and non-state actors matter.
3. Public administration: International organizations are key actors in the
international system. International organizations have autonomy from member states
even if international organizations are created by states, they act in ways unintended
and unanticipated by states. International organizations are actors with their own
goals. The behavior of international organizations depends on how they are
organized.
