e ave.

One lesson Will not be able to cover the various

governance occurs. As such, this lesson Will only how global governance is articulated by
intergOvernmer;ta, organizations. It will focus primarily on the United Nations as the most prominent
intergovernmental organization today.

What is an International Organization?

When scholars refer to groups like the UN or institutions like the IMF and the World Bank (see Lesson 2),
they usually call them international organizations (IOS). Although international NGOs are sometimes
considered as IOS, the term is commonly used to refer to international intergovernmental organizations
or groups that are primarily made up of member-states."

One major fallacy about international organizations is that they are merely amalgamations of various
state interests. In the 1960s and 1970s, many scholars believed that IOS were just venues where the
contradicting, but sometimes intersecting, agendas of countries were discussed—no more than talk
shops. What has become more evident in recent years, however, is that IOS can take on lives of their
own. For example, as seen in Lesson 2, the IMF was able to promote a particular form of economic
orthodoxy that stemmed mainly from the beliefs of its professional economists IOS can thus become
influential as independent organizations International relations scholars Michael N. Barnett and Martha
Finnemore listed the following powers of IOS

First, IOS have the power of classification. Because IOS can invent and apply categories, they create
powerful global standards.) 0 For exarnple, it is the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that
defines what a refugee is (see Lesson 10 for more). And since states are required to accept refugees
entering their borders, this power to establish identity has concrete effects.20

Second, IOS have the power to fix meanings. This is a broader function related to the first. Various terms
like "security" or "development" need to be well-defined. States, organizations, and individuals view IOS
as legitimate sources of information. As such, the meanings they create have effects on various policies.
For example, recently, the United Nations has started to define security as not just safety from military
violence, but also safety from environmental harm. 21

Finally, IOS have the power to diffuse norms. Norms are accepted codes of conduct that may not be
strict law, but nevertheless produce regularity in behavior. IOS do not only classify and fix meanings;
they also spread their ideas across the world, thereby establishing global standards. Their members are,
as Barnett and Finnemore emphasized, the "missionaries" of our time. Their power to diffuse norms
stems from the fact that IOS are staffed with independent bureaucracies, who are considered experts in
various fields. For example, World Bank economists come to be regarded as experts in development and
thus carry some form of authority. They can, therefore, create norms regarding the implementation and
conceptualization of development projects.

Because of these immense powers, IOS can be sources of great good and great harm. They can promote
relevant norms like environmental protection and human rights. But, like other entrenched
bureaucracies, they can become sealed-off communities that fail to challenge their beliefs. For example,
the Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz famously criticized the IMF for using a "one-size-fits-
all" approach when its economists made recommendations to developing countries.22

Having examined the powers, limitations, and weaknesses of IOS, the spotlight will now fall on the most
prominent 10 in the contemporary world, the United Nations (UN). After the collapse of the League of
Nations at the end of World War Il, countries that worried about another global war began to push for
the formation of a more lasting international league. The result was the creation of the UN. Although
the organization is far from perfect, it should be emphasized that it has so far achieved its primary goal
of averting another global war. For this reason alone, the UN should be considered a success.

The UN is divided into five active organs. The General Assembly (GA) is UN's "main deliberative
policymaking and representative organ."23 According to the UN charter: "Decisions on important
questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members, and budgetary matters,
require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly. Decisions on other questions are done by simple
majority. Annually, the General Assembly elects a GA President to serve a one-year term of office."24 All
member states (currently at 193) have seats in the GA. The Philippines played a prominent role in the
GA's early years when Filipino diplomat Carlos P. Romulo was elected GA president from 1949-1950.

Although the GA is the most representative organization in the UN, many commentators consider the
Security Council (SC) to be the most powerful. According to the UN, this body consists of 15 member
states. The GA elects ten of these 15 to two-year terms. The other five—sotnetimcs referred to as the
Permanent 5 (P5)—-are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These states
have been permanent members since the founding of the UN, and cannot be replaced through election.
The SC takes the lead in determining the existence of a threat to the peace or an act of aggression. It
calls upon the parties to a dispute to settle the act by peaceful means and recommends methods of
adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, it can resort to imposing sanctions or even
authorizing the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security25 Because of these
powers, states that seek to intervene militarily in another state need to obtain the approval of the SC.
With the SC's approval, a military intervention may be deemed legal. This is an immense power.

Much attention has been placed on the SC's P5 due to their permanent seats and because each country
holds veto power over the council's decisions. It only takes one veto vote from a P5 member to stop an
SC action dead in its tracks. In this sense, the SC is heir to the tradition of "great power" diplomacy that
began with the Metternich/Concert of Europe system (see the previous lesson). It is especially telling
that the P5 consists of the major

44 | The Structures of Globalization

Allied Powers that won World War Il. The Security Council will be further discussed in the next section.

The third UN organ is the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), which is "the principal body for
coordination policy review, policy dialogue, and recommendations on social and environmental issues,
as well as the implementation of internationally agreed development goals."26 It has 54 members
elected for three-year terms. Currently, it is the UN's central platform for discussions on sustainable
development.

The fourth is the International Court of Justice whose task "is to settle, in accordance with international
law, legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions referred to it by authorized
United Nations organs and specialized agencies."27 The major cases of the court consist of disputes
between states that voluntarily submit themselves to the court for arbitration. The court, as such,
cannot try individuals (international criminal cases are heard by the International Criminal Court, which
is independent of the UN), and its decisions are only binding when states have explicitly agreed to place
themselves before the court's authority. The SC may enforce the rulings of the ICJ, but this remains
subject to the P5's veto power.

Finally, the secretariat consists of the "Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international UN staff
members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as mandated by the General Assembly and the
organization's other principal organs." 28 As such, it is the bureaucracy of the UN, serving as a kind of
international service. Members of the secretariat serve in their capacity as VS employees and not as
state representatives.

y ot the UN, serving as a kind of international civil service. Members of the secretariat serve in their
capacity as UN employees and not as state representatives.

Challenges of the United Nations

Given the scope of the UN's activities, it naturally faces challenges. Chief among these are the limits
placed upon its various organs and programs by the need to respect state sou•reignty. The UN is not a
world government, and it functions prunarily because of voluntary cooperation from states. If states
reluse to cooperate, the influence of the UN can be severely circumscribed. For example, the UN Council
on Human Rights can send special rapporteurs to countries where alleged human rights violations are
occurring. If a country does not invite the rapporteur or places conditions on his/her activities, however,
this information-gathering mechanism usually fails to achieve its goals.

However, perhaps the biggest challenge of the United Nations is related to issues of security. As
mentioned, the UN Security Council is tasked with authorizing international acts of military intervention.
Because of the P5's veto power, it is tough for the council to release a formal resolution, much more
implement it. This became an issue, for example, in the late 1990s when the United States sought to
intervene in the Kosovo war. Serbian leader Slobodan Milogevié was committing acts of ethnic cleansing
against ethnic Muslim Albanians in the province of Kosovo. Hundreds and thousands of Albanians were
victims of massacres, mass deportations, and internal displacement. Amid this systematic terror,
members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, see Lesson 5), led by the United States,
sought SC authorization to intervene in the Kosovo war on humanitarian grounds. China and Russia,
however, threatened

to Seto any lion. ing the VIN incapable of addressing the

NA decided to intervene on its own. Though the NA 1'0 intervention largely a success, it, nevertheless,
left the VIN inett€wtuals
a sinulav dynatuic is evident in Syria, which is undetgoing a civil war. Russia has threatened to veto any
SC tvsolution against Syria; thus, the UN has done very little to stop state sanctioned violence against
opponents of the government.

Syrian lhvsident Bashar al-Assad is an ally of Russian dictator V ladinlir l'utin, the latter has shied away
from any policy that could weaken the legitituacy of the former. As a result, the UN is again ineffectual
amid a conflict that has led to over 220,000 people dead and I l million displaced.»

IDespite these probletus, it remains important for the SC to place a high bar on military intervention.
The UN Security Council has been wrong on issues of intervention, but it has also ntade right decisions.
When the United States sought to invade Iraq in 2001, it claimed that Iraq's Saddam Hussein had
weapons of tnass destruction (WMD) that threatened the world. However, UN members Russia, China,
and France were unconvinced and vetoed the UN resolution for intervention, forcing the United States
to lead a small "coalition of the willing" with its allies. It has since been discovered that there were no
weapons of mass destruction, and the invasion of Iraq has caused problems for the country and the
region that last until today.

Conclusion

Global governance is such a complex issue that one can actually teach an entire course in itself. This
lesson has focused on the IOS and the United Nations in particular. International organizations are
highlighted because they are the most visible symbols of global governance. The UN, in particular, is the
closest to a world government. What is important to remember is that international institutions like the
UN are always in a precarious position.

en the one hand, they are groups of sovereign states. On the other, they are organizations with their
own rationalities and agendas. It thus tension that will continue to inform the evolution of these
organintions.

However, note that there are many institutions, groups, and ideas that hold international and global
politics together. In your own time, you may want to explore these topics on your own.