International Organizations

2022/23

Lesson 2:
International Organizations: Origins
and Evolution

Prof. Alberto Iglesias

alberto.iglesias@uc3m.es
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.
2. First organizations.
3. International organizations in the XXth
4. League of Nations.
a. Characteristics and achievements.
b. Peace-keeping.
c. Human rights and minority protection.
d. Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.
2. First organizations.
3. International organizations in the XXth
4. League of Nations.
a. Characters and achievements.
b. Peace-keeping.
c. Human rights and minority protection.
d. Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

- Coexistence vs. Cooperation
- Maximizing Outcomes, minimizing looses
- Self-interest vs. Altruism
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

- Coexistence vs. Cooperation
- Maximizing Outcomes, minimizing looses
- Self-interest vs. Altruism
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

- Coexistence vs. Cooperation
- Maximizing Outcomes, minimizing looses
- Self-interest vs. Altruism
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

- Cooperation theories
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

- Cooperation theories
- Idealism
- Realism
- Liberal internationalism
- Neo-realism
- Liberal Institutionalism
- Social constructivism/ post-modern
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

- Cooperation theories
- Idealism
- Realism
- Liberal internationalism
- Neo-realism
- Liberal Institutionalism
- Social constructivism/ post-modern
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

- Cooperation theories
- Idealism
- Realism
- Liberal internationalism
- Neo-realism
- Liberal Institutionalism
- Social constructivism/ post-modern
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

- Cooperation theories
- Idealism
- Realism
- Liberal internationalism
- Neo-realism
- Liberal Institutionalism
- Social constructivism/ post-modern
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

- Cooperation theories
- Idealism
- Realism
- Liberal internationalism
- Neo-realism
- Liberal Institutionalism
- Social constructivism/ post-modern
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.

- Why do states cooperate?

- Cooperation theories
- Idealism
- Realism
- Liberal internationalism
- Neo-realism
- Liberal Institutionalism
- Social constructivism/ post-modern
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.
2. First organizations.
3. International organizations in the XXth
4. League of Nations.
a. Characteristics and achievements.
b. Peace-keeping.
c. Human rights and minority protection.
d. Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

2. First organizations.

- Low-politics cooperation
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

2. First organizations.

- Low-politics cooperation
- River Navigation management (Rhin, Douro,
Danube, Po…)
- International Telegraphic Union (1865)
- International Postal Union (1874)
- International Metric Union (1875)
- International Copyright Union (1886)
- International Union of Railway (1890)
- International Office of Public Health (1903)
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.
2. First organizations.
3. International organizations in the XXth
4. League of Nations.
a. Characteristics and achievements.
b. Peace-keeping.
c. Human rights and minority protection.
d. Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

3. International organizations in the XXth

- High-politics cooperation
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

3. International organizations in the XXth

- High-politics cooperation
- LoN, ILO 1919
- UN, 1945 – Bretton Woods 1944-45
- CoE, NATO 1949
- EEC 1957 - EU(1992)
- OECD 1961
- OSCE 1975
- ICC 2002…
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

3. International organizations in the XXth

- High-politics cooperation
- Greater capacity
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

3. International organizations in the XXth

- High-politics cooperation
- Greater capacity
- Legal personality & attributed powers
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

3. International organizations in the XXth

- High-politics cooperation
- Greater capacity
- Legal personality & attributed powers
- Normative effectiveness
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.
2. First organizations.
3. International organizations in the XXth
4. League of Nations.
a. Characteristics and achievements.
b. Peace-keeping.
c. Human rights and minority protection.
d. Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations

- Characteristics
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations

- Characteristics
- Treaty of Versailles
- Annex, League of Nations
- Organs: Assembly, Council, Secretariat,
Permanent Court
- Other bodies: technical commissions- Health,
Communications, transport, traffic of women
and children, slavery, disarmament…
- Annex, International Labour Organization
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations

- Characteristics
- Achievements
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations

- Characteristics
- Achievements
- Permanent Court of Justice
- Peace-Keeping
- Human Rights and Minority protection
- Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations

- Characteristics
- Achievements
- Permanent Court of Justice
- Peace-Keeping
- Human Rights and Minority protection
- Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.
2. First organizations.
3. International organizations in the XXth
4. League of Nations.
a. Characteristics and achievements.
b. Peace-keeping.
c. Human rights and minority protection.
d. Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Peace-keeping
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Peace-keeping
- Impunity prevention
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Peace-keeping
- Impunity prevention
- Armenia “genocide”
- Art. 227 Treaty of Versailles
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

ARTICLE 227.
The Allied and Associated Powers publicly arraign William II of Hohenzollern, formerly German
Emperor, for a supreme offence against international morality and the sanctity of treaties.
A special tribunal will be constituted to try the accused, […]
In its decision the tribunal will be guided by the highest motives of international policy, with a view to
vindicating the solemn obligations of international undertakings and the validity of international
morality. It will be its duty to fix the punishment which it considers should be imposed.
[…]
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Peace-keeping
- Impunity prevention
- War prevention
- Interest of the whole League (art. 11 LoN)
- Arbitration (art. 12 LoN)
- Treaty of Locarno, 1925
- Briand-Kellog pact, 1928
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.
2. First organizations.
3. International organizations in the XXth
4. League of Nations.
a. Characteristics and achievements.
b. Peace-keeping.
c. Human rights and minority protection.
d. Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Human Rights
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Human Rights
- Civil & political rights
- White slave trafficking Convention, 1921
- Children´s rights declaration, 1924
- Convention on Slavery, 1926
- High Commissioner for Refugees, 1921
- … comming from Germany, 1933
- …
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Human Rights
- Civil & political rights
- Economic, social & cultural rights
- Queretaró, 1919; Weimar, 1921
- International Labour Organization
(universal peace is grounded on social
justice)
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Human Rights
- Minority protection
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Human Rights
- Minority protection
- “Minority treaties”: rights of people vs. home
state regulation (nationality, life, freedom,
religion, education…)
- Not a clear warranty, Non-general system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Human Rights
- Minority protection
- Protection system
- Minority Statute
- Procedure
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Human Rights
- Minority protection
- Protection system
- Minority Treaties, LoN certain States
- Compliance warranty by LoN
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Human Rights
- Minority protection
- Protection system
- Minority Statute
- Individual rights: nationality, life, freedom,
religion, education…
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Human Rights
- Minority protection
- Protection system
- Minority Statute
- Procedure
- Petition
- Locus Standi before PCIJ
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

1. Intellectual history.
2. First organizations.
3. International organizations in the XXth
4. League of Nations.
a. Characteristics and achievements.
b. Peace-keeping.
c. Human rights and minority protection.
d. Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Mandate system
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Mandate system
- Characteristics
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Mandate system
- Characteristics
- Treaties: Versailles, Sèvres, Laussane
- Art. 22, LoN.
- Non-annexation, development of territory.
- UN Trusted Territories.
International Organizations: Origins and Evolution

4. League of Nations.

- Mandate system
- Characteristics
- Self-determination of peoples