International Organizations Theory and Practice Course aims

International Organizations: Theory and Practice

Course aims On completion of this course, students should be able to • display deeper understanding of the role and significance of international organizations and international institutions; • relate the phenomenon of international organization to current theories of international relations, as well as to understand general aspects of organizational behavior and organizational change; • identify the types and expressions of international organization in the contemporary world; • display in-depth knowledge of a particular case of international organization and/or the organization of a particular issue area in international relations.

Project work (case study) The project work has the form of a case study. This means that you will choose a particular international organization (not the cases discussed in Barnett & Finnemore) of the contemporary world, and use this to illustrate and illuminate problems of international organization. The aim of the project work is to develop your understanding of the role and significance of international organizations and international institutions, as well as your independent analytical skills, by connecting relevant theories and concepts to an empirical case of international organization.

Four models of world order _______________________________ No supranational authority Supranational authority (horizontal coordination) (hierarchical steering) ____________________________________ No effective norms and rules International anarchy World hegemony Effective norms and rules Global governance World State ____________________________________

International Order “[A] pattern of activity that sustains the elementary or primary goals of the society of states, or international society. ” “A society of states exists when a group of states, conscious of certain common interests and common values, form a society in the sense that they conceive themselves to be bound by a common set of rules in their relations with one another, and share in the working of common institutions. ” (Hedley Bull, The Anarchical Society (1977), p. 8 & 13)

International institutions [E]xplicit arrangements, negotiated among international actors, that prescribe, proscribe, and/or authorize behavior. Behavioral patterns based on international norms and rules, which prescribe behavioral roles in recurring situations that lead to a convergence of reciprocal expectations.

International institutions and organizations • International organizations are a specific class of international social institutions … • Two types of international institutions can be distinguished: international regimes, and international organizations.

Internationell organization ”An international organization is an institutional structure created by agreement among two or more sovereign states for the conduct of regular political interactions. IGOs are distinguished from the facilities of traditional diplomacy by their structure and permanence. ” (Harold K. Jacobson, 1984)

International regimes are … “… sets of implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules, and decision making procedures around which actors’ expectations converge in a given area of international relations. ” (Stephen Krasner)

International regimes • Principles: coherent bodies of theoretical statements about how the world works • Norms: general standards of behavior, identify the rights and obligations of states • Rules: specific regulations, which operate at a lower level of generality than principles and norms • Decisionmaking procedures: specific prescriptions for behavior, the system of voting, for example, which will regularly change as a regime is consolidated and extended

Historical development

Historical examples • Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine 1815 • International Telegraph Union 1865 • Universal Postal Union 1878 • League of Nations 1919 • International Labour Organization 1919 • International Aviation Commission 1919/ International Civil Aviation Organization 1944

Conceptualization

Conceptualization (1): • IO as instruments (realist analysis …) • IO as arenas (principal actor analysis) • IO as actors (by delegation and pooling of authority, • … or taking on a life of their own … Conceptualization (2): • IO as political systems • IO as bureaucracies

Theories of International Organization

1. Why are international organizations created? 2. How do international organizations shape collective decision-making processes within them? 3. What are the effects of the decisions and activities of international organizations on international and transnational cooperation and thus on the provision o effective and legitimate global governance? 4. What does the establishment and growth of a wide variety of international organizations mean for the broader evolution of international governance? 5. How are international organizations legitimized?

Internationell organization ”An international organization is an institutional structure created by agreement among two or more sovereign states for the conduct of regular political interactions. IGOs are distinguished from the facilities of traditional diplomacy by their structure and permanence. ” (Harold K. Jacobson, 1984)

ONTOLOGY EPISTEMOLOGY Objecivism Holism Individualism Interpretativism

ONTOLOGY EPISTEMOLOGY Objecivism Holism Individualism Interpretativism IO as outcomes of material structural conditions IO understood as normative structures (inter-subjective beliefs) IO as outcomes of rational choice IO understood as constituted by ideologies (and selfunderstandings) of their makers

Theories of International Organization Realism: “International institutions are reflections of the power distribution in the anarchical system. ”

Theories of International Organization Liberalism: “International institutions reflect shared interests among states and represent rational responses to life in an anarchical system. ”

Theories of International Organization Constructivism: “International institutions represent shared beliefs and understandings about how the world hangs together, collective identity, and standards of rightful action in world politics; as such they may play a transformative role in altering state perceptions and behavior”

Logics of actions • Logic of expected consequences Action determined by rational calculations of consequences (interests choices outcomes) (Realism, Neo-liberalism/institutionalism) • Logic of appropriateness Actions determined by norms and identities, which suggest appropriate behavior in given situations (identities/norms choice outcomes further identity shifts) (Constructivism)

Theories of International Organization Critical theory: “International institutions are means for domination by privileged states and the capitalist interests that they serve; they are strategies to mask power relations and interests. ”

The Politics of International Organizations

Means of domination Power instruments Cost efficient devices International institutions Autonomous actors Functional outcomes

1. Why are international organizations created? 2. How do international organizations shape collective decision-making processes within them? 3. What are the effects of the decisions and activities of international organizations on international and transnational cooperation and thus on the provision o effective and legitimate global governance? 4. What does the establishment and growth of a wide variety of international organizations mean for the broader evolution of international governance? 5. How are international organizations legitimized?

David Easton on politics Politics = the authoritative allocation of values for a society

ENVIRONMENT O I N U DEMANDS P U Political system SUPPORT DECISIONS T P U T T Feedback ENVIRONMENT

ENVIRONMENT O I N U DEMANDS P U SUPPORT Constitutional and institutional structure Decision-making processes T DECISIONS T P U T Feedback ENVIRONMENT

DEMANDS Conversion Member states’ governments Intergovernmental negotiations Administrations Majority voting Parliamentary assemblies Rational choice Policy programmes Information activities Operations Interest groups SOP Communities of experts Bureaucratic politics SUPPORT

Acceptance of political institutions • Coercion • Tradition • Apathy • Pragmatic acquiescence • Instrumental acquiescence • Normative agreement • Ideal normative agreement

International Organization - as bureaucracy

ENVIRONMENT O I N U DEMANDS P U Political system SUPPORT DECISIONS T P U T T Feedback ENVIRONMENT

Bureaucracy Features of bureaucracy: 1. Hierarchy (division of labor and accountability) 2. Continuity (stable employment, regular advancement) 3. Impersonality (operating procedures, guarantees against arbitrary treatment) 4. Expertise (professionalism, training, rational information handling)

Bureaucratic authority • Delegated authority • Moral authority • Expert authority