INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Lecture - 2
CLASSIFICATION OF
INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS
The Realist School
It is an important part of human nature to strive for
power
International politics is characterized by the
continuous quest for power by all states.
National politics is characterized by the quest for
power of differing parties
In such an anarchial self-help system every state has to
provide for its own security by means of power
maximization.
International organizations are of little help in
channelling this perpetual power struggle since they
can not change power struggle.
This view treats international organizations as nothing
more than contracts made between states. The
founding treaty is important because it codifies
promises made between states to whic they are
expected to adhere, but the key commitments are
among the signatory states and organization itself is
essential. International rules exist onşy to the extent
that sovereign states have created them and states
compliance with those rules depends on their
perception of their interests each case.
Neorealist School
 Neorealism no-longer assumes that it is human nature that
induces states to strive for power in the international
system.
 The anarchical structure of the international system dictates
the maximization of relative power. State cooperation is
almost impossible to achieve.
 Neorealists argue that states must ensure that other states
do not benefit more from cooperation in international
organizations than they do themselves. Neorealism only
conceives of sustained cooperation in international
organizations if one of the states concerned posseses such
superior power that it can afford to tolerate the relative gain
of other states in order to achieve absolute gains for itself.
Hegemonic stability theory- effectiveness of in. Org.
Closely related with rise or decline of hegemon.
The Institutionalist School
Instituonalist share the same perspective about the
anarchic international system. In contrats to realists
institutionalist view cooperation through international
organizations as completely rational.
Liberal institutionalism traces these interest
constellations back to ever more complex
interdependent relations among states which often
leads to problems that no state can master alone.
Neo-Institutionalism
It bases it premises on classical liberal institutionalism
The complex interdependent relationship between
states do not automatically result in the creation of
international organizations they gaining importance as
a due to the increasingly complex dependent relations.
Interest constellation
-reducing transaction costs
-preperation and completion of contracts
-enforcement of contract provision
Neofuntionalism- political integration spill over
Normative Idealism& Social
Constructivism
Peoples are the central actors of international politics.
Human beings are moral actors and international
institutions are necessary for the maintenance of peace.
Social constructivist , social actors act not only
according to the their selfish interst but also in
response to share values and norms. International
organizations emerge whenever the values and norms
they represent are widely shared in the participating
societies. The creation of effective organization is
therefore only likely when the participating socieities
share the basic perception of the problem. Institutions
make lobby to construct a norm
 Introduction
The definition of an international organization
covers a wide range of institutions even if profit-
making associations are excluded.
In this lecture, international organizations will be
examined under three headings which provide a
description of types:
1. Membership,
2. Aims and activities,
3. Structure.
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
The first distinction:
1. Interstate/intergovernmental organizations (IGOs),
2. Nongovernmental organizations (INGOs),
3. International organizations with mixed membership.
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs):
ECOSOC, 1950: “Every international organization
which is not created by means of inter-governmental
agreements shall be considered as a non-
governmental international organization.”
Are intergovernmental organizations the same as
interstate organizations?
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
The sovereign state view of international relations:
1.With few exceptions, only sovereign states are the
subjects of international law;
2.Sovereign states are equal in their standing in
international law;
3.Sovereign states are institutionally self-contained and
international law cannot interfere with the domestic
jurisdiction of their governments.
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
Important consequences for international
organizations:
First of all, in theory, such organizations, if they
were to be recognized as having any standing in
international law, should only consist of sovereign
states in their membership.
Second, the notion of the sovereign equality of states
would allow states to have equal voting power in any
international institution such as an assembly or a
council of an organization.
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
Third, the inviolability of sovereignty can be
protected within international organizations by the
doctrine that states cannot be bound by agreements to
which they are not party. Certainly any interference
with questions of domestic jurisdiction by
international organizations would not be allowed.
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
The state-centric model of international relations
would allow interactions between the government of
one state and the domestic society of another state,
but would insist that international politics is about
relations between the governments of two or more
states and not between the members of those states’
societies (Figure 2.1).
Thus international organizations are interstate,
intergovernmental organizations by this reckoning.
• United Nations
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)
• World Trade Organization (WTO)
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, the wealthy
countries' club)
• Group of Eight: the richest nations' economic leadership forum
• Group of 77 (G-77, a meeting group of developing nations)
• African Union (AU)
• Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC)
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
• The Commonwealth (Britain and nations that were former colonies)
• Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Organization of Central Asian states
• Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
• European Union (EU)
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
• Organization of American States (OAS)
• Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
• Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
• Pacific Community (Pacific Island nations and territories
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
This is clearly not the case.
What are commonly and reasonably called ‘international
organizations’ often contain members that are not states or
governmental representatives but are drawn from groups,
associations, organizations or individuals from within the
state.
These are non-governmental actors on the international
stage and their activities give rise to transnational
interaction.
Figure 2.2 typifies international relations seen from a
viewpoint that admits the importance of transnational
relations.
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
Keohane and Nye (1971):
Transnational interactions: “the movement of
tangible or intangible items across state boundaries
when at least one actor is not an agent of a
government or an international organization.”
4 major types of global interaction: communications,
transport, finance and travel.
Many activities contain several of the types
simultaneously.
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
When such relationships between more than two
participants become institutionalized by agreement
into a formal, continuous structure in order to pursue
the common interests of the participants, one of which
is not an agent of government or an international
organization, then a transnational organization
(TNO) has been established.
In contrast to an intergovernmental organization, a
TNO must have a non-state actor for at least one of
its members.
Non-governmental organizations
 NGOs roles in the world politics:

 Information gathering with people on the ground, interaction with other NGOs, IGOs and
MNCs.

 Consult and expertise

 Carrying out policies of states and IGOs.
 Private interactions involving with various transactions to bring together groups and
individuals.

 Participate in international politics by defining goals, providing information, and giving

expert advice

 Pressure governments and IGOs through direct and indirect lobbying

 NGOs are instrumental in setting international norms and executing international policy
 The creation of the International Criminal Court, for
example, occurred after INGOs coordinated their
efforts through the Coalition for the International
Criminal Court (Simmons 1998;
Similarly, many contend that the international treaty
banningthe use of landmines came about as a result of
INGO and civil society coordination:
INGOs on the ground gathering information were tied
to other organizations with specialized governmental
and media connections
 Many environmental INGOs joined forces to push for
the end of chlorofluorocarbon use in the 1980s.
Suriyeli mültecilerin statüsü ile haklarını belirleyecek
mevzuat bir an evvel çıkarılmalı!

Avrupa yaşananları görmezden gelirken Akdeniz’de

ölü sayısı artıyor!!!

Uluslararası Af Örgütü ve İnsan Hakları İzleme

Örgütü ortak açıklaması: İsrail derhal Uluslararası Af
Örgütü, İnsan Hakları İzleme Örgütü ve diğer
uluslararası insan hakları örgütlerinin Gazze'ye
erişimine izin ver.
 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
 Ensure environmental sustainability
 Develop a global partnership for development
The work of the ICRC is based on the Geneva
Conventions of 1949, their Additional Protocols, its
Statutes – and those of the International Red Cross and
Red Crescent Movement – and the resolutions of the
International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red
Crescent. The ICRC is an independent, neutral
organization ensuring humanitarian protection and
assistance for victims of armed conflict and other
situations of violence. It takes action in response to
emergencies and at the same time promotes respect for
international humanitarian law and its implementation
in national law.
3 key NGO roles:
– catalyst
– service provider
– partner
But ….
– small scale of impacts
– malleability to other interests
– lack of accountability
– low level of professionalism
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
3. Transgovernmental organization (TGO)
 Examples: the International Union of Local
Authorities (IULA), The IULA is an association that organizes contact
between municipalities, funding agencies, training institutions, corporations, NGOs, and
individuals worldwide for the exchange of information and expertise and to facilitate
.
cultural contact

 the International Council for the Exploration of the

Sea (ICES),
 coordinates and promotes marine research on oceanography, the marine
environment, the marine ecosystem, and on living marine resources in the North
Atlantic. Members of the ICES community now include all coastal states
bordering the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea. ICES cooperates with
organizations and institutes on an international scale.
 Interpol (the International Criminal Police
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?
 A fourth category of TNOs is sometimes made: that of the
business international non-governmental organizations
(BINGOs), alternatively called multinational enterprises or
corporations: MNEs, MNCs.
 MNCs or TNCs have been excluded from the rest of our
study on the following grounds:
 Both the ECOSOC Resolution in 1950 and the definition used
by the Yearbook of International Organizations exclude them
from the term ‘international organization’.
 Keeping in line with the Yearbook of International
Organizations and exclude profit-making organizations from
the description.
 MNCs – for-profit firms that have subsidiaries in two or more countries and
engage in transnational production activities involving movement of goods and
services across national boundaries (e.g. Wal-Mart, McDonalds, General
Motors, Boeing, Adidas, etc).

 Some large multilateral corporations, given their large economic influence as

well as their extensive financial resources, can have a powerful influence in
local economies as well as the world economy and play an important role in
international relations and globalization.

 In addition to efforts by multinational corporations to affect governments, there

is much government action intended to affect corporate behavior. The threat of
nationalization (forcing a company to sell its local assets to the government or
to other local nationals) or changes in local business laws and regulations can
limit a multinational's power.
 Four broad categories of MNCs:

 MNCs involved in Agriculture and extractive industries, including gas

and oil explorations (British Petroleum (BP), Statoil (Norwegian), Exxon
(US), Amoco (US), etc).

 MNCs involved in the provision of financial services, such as

multinational banks, brokers and insurance companies.

 MNCs as industrial corporations involved in manufacture of goods

(Motorola, Sony, Volkswagen, etc).
Influence in Nations' Political
Affairs
Coup D’etats
International Telegraph and Telephone Company
Guetamala United Fruit Co.
Corruptions to State Departments

Effective Lobby Groups

European Round Table of Industiralists
International Chamber of Commerce
Davos
World Business Council On Sustainable Development
 Membership:
What are the building blocks?

The exclusion of MNCs is not to deny that they

have much in common with international
organizations, especially organizationally.
A number of MNCs may join together to form an
international non-governmental organization.
MNCs are clearly important international actors.
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
Another important aspect of the membership of
international organizations is the membership area
from which it is drawn.
First, those of the most limited kind with two members
drawn from a geographically contiguous area which has
many other factors – economic, social and political – in
common.
The Benelux Customs Union
Second, the universal organizations which have
membership drawn from practically all the sovereign
states in the world.
The United Nations (UN) and many of its specialized
agencies.
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism

The distinction made in types of international

organizations based on membership is often between:
1. Regional organizations,
2. Global or universal organizations.
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
Definition of a region:
There seems to be no one satisfactory definition of a
region.
Rupert Vance: A region is “any portion of the earth’s
surface whose physical characteristics are similar.”
Howard Odum: A region should have “a relatively
large degree of homogeneity measured by a relatively
large number of purposes or classifications.”
In the social sciences → Regions → geographical
characteristics + economic, social, cultural and political
characteristics.
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
Cantori and Spiegel (1970) consider regions: “to be
areas of the world which contain geographically
proximate states forming, in foreign affairs, mutually
interrelated units. For each participant, the activities of
other members of the region (be they antagonistic or
cooperative) are significant determinants of its foreign
policy; while particular members of certain regions
may have extraregional concerns, their primary
involvement in foreign affairs ordinarily lies in the
region in which they find themselves.”
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
Neumann (1994) compares the creation of regions to
that described by Andersen (1983) for nations – being
‘imagined communities’, whose existence is preceded
by region-builders, political actors who…imagine a
certain spatial and chronological identity for a region,
and disseminate this imagined identity to others.
Saarikoski (1995) makes the distinction between the
more objective process of regionalization and region
building.
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
Regionalization is ‘a “natural” and passive process
without a conscious or programmed human activity’
whereby a subjective identity emerges over a period of
time, during which the political and cultural frontier
areas create an objective essence.
Region-building is ‘an active process with a conscious
human subject’, often based on regionalization and can
either be made from above (by the political powers) or
below (by the citizens and subjects).
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
Delineation of one region: where does one region
end and another begin?
The OAU seems to be the international organization
whose membership completely covers one continent
and is only drawn from one continent.
It seems difficult to decide what size a region should be
– or, indeed, who should define that size.
“Zones rather than lines”
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
Non-geographic factors (political, cultural) can be
used to delineate members of a region.
Example:
The Nordic region, where membership is not only
drawn from the Scandinavian peninsula but includes
Denmark –Iceland- Finland- Norway-Sweden (though
not Germany to which Denmark is physically joined)
and Iceland, far out in the North Atlantic, because of
their cultural and historic links with the peoples of the
Scandinavian peninsula.
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
Bruce Russett (1967):

5 aspects:

1. regions of social and cultural homogeneity;

2. regions sharing similar attitudes or external behaviour;

3. regions of political interdependence;

4. regions of economic interdependence;

5. regions of geographic proximity.

 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
More regional?
An organization of which the members have strong
similarities in each of the five categories could be
classified as strongly regional.
An organization ‘scoring’ in only one category would
be one with a weak regional profile.
See Table 2.1.
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism

The perfect regional organization:

States with similar backgrounds to solve problems they
could not otherwise deal with at a national level;
It can produce a security community between
members;
It can perhaps produce political entities which will act
as components for a future world government.
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism

The perfect universal organization:

It emphasizes the indivisibility of world peace and
prosperity;
It would help link the rich and the poor areas of the
world;
It would be the basis of a collective security system
whereby all countries would unite to protect any one
that was threatened.
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
Any international organization with a limited number
of members most of which are seen to be
geographically proximate and/or culturally,
economically and politically similar, has traditionally
attracted the title ‘regional’.
The Nordic Council,
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD),
The Commonwealth of Nations.
 Membership:
Regionalism versus Universalism
The Russett’s study brings out 4 important factors:
1. Regions are difficult to define.
2. Regions are even more difficult to delineate.
3. Even if the state membership of a region could be
defined and delineated, changes take place over time
which may loosen the membership or add to it.
4. If the idea of a region is an uncertain and changing one,
so is the notion of a regional organization (with limited
membership or more open or extensive membership).