World Politics: International Organizations

Bureaucratic Universalism

A pathology of IOs where they generate universal rules and categories that are, by design, inattentive to contextual and particularistic concerns, sometimes leading to disastrous results when generalized knowledge is applied inappropriately.

Classification

A form of IO power that involves creating and applying social categories (e.g., "refugee," "peasant") to organize information and knowledge. This act shapes the identity and life circumstances of those being classified.

Constitutive Explanation

An analytical approach that explains the behavior of things by understanding how they are socially constituted. For IOs, this means understanding how the "social stuff" of bureaucracy gives them certain properties and behavioral dispositions.

Consultative Status

The formal arrangement, governed by ECOSOC resolution 1996/31, through which NGOs can participate in the work of the UN's Economic and Social Council.

Cultural Contestation

A pathology of IOs arising from clashes between distinct internal cultures that grow within different parts of the organization. These competing perspectives can generate contradictory policies and paralyze action, as seen in the conflict between humanitarian and neutrality principles in UN peacekeeping.

Do No Harm Principle

A principle, coined by Mary Anderson, stating that actors planning an intervention (like humanitarian aid) must understand the context, be aware of the interaction between the intervention and that context, and act to avoid negative impacts while maximizing positive ones.

Economistic Approach

A theoretical perspective (informing neorealism and neoliberalism) that views organizations as efficient, welfare-improving solutions to problems like incomplete information and high transaction costs, created to serve the interests of their members (states).

Fixing of Meanings

A form of IO power that involves establishing the parameters of acceptable action by investing situations with a particular meaning. For example, IOs have been central to defining the meaning of "development" and "security."

Free-Rider Problem

A challenge in collective action where individuals can enjoy the benefits of a public good without contributing to its provision, as described by Mancur Olson.

Functionalism

A theory of international integration, founded by David Mitrany, which posits that peace can be built by creating functional, technical, non-political agencies that address common needs, thereby shifting loyalties from the nation-state to international bodies.

Insulation

A pathology of IOs that occurs when they are shielded from environmental feedback about their performance. This can be caused by strong professionalism or the absence of a competitive environment, leading to the development of parochial worldviews that are detached from the organization's goals.

Irrationality of Rationalization

A pathology where the rules and procedures of a bureaucracy become ends in themselves, leading the organization to tailor its missions to fit existing routines rather than designing routines to fit its mission.

Neofunctionalism

A theory of regional integration, developed by Ernst B. Haas, that argues integration is driven by the self-interest of political actors and "spillover effects," where cooperation in one functional area creates the necessity for cooperation in others, eventually turning non-political cooperation political.

Norm Diffusion

A process by which IOs act as "conveyor belts" or "missionaries" to spread, inculcate, and enforce global values and norms that define what constitutes acceptable and legitimate state behavior.

Norm Entrepreneurs

A term from constructivist theory describing actors, such as NGOs, that work to persuade a critical mass of states to embrace new norms of behavior (e.g., on human rights or environmental protection).

Normalization of Deviance

A pathology, identified by Diane Vaughan, where exceptions to an organization's rules become routinized over time. This process allows what was once considered a risky or unacceptable deviation to be treated as a normal, acceptable procedure.

Pathologies

A term used by Barnett and Finnemore to describe dysfunctional IO behavior that can be traced to the organization's internal bureaucratic culture. This behavior undermines the stated goals of the organization.

Principal-Agent Analysis

A framework for understanding organizational dynamics where IOs are viewed as "agents" created by states ("principals"). The analysis focuses on whether agents are faithful to their principals' instructions or pursue their own independent preferences.

Rational-Legal Authority

A form of authority, described by Max Weber, that is invested in impersonal legalities, procedures, and rules rather than in a specific leader. Barnett and Finnemore argue this is a key source of an IO's power and legitimacy in the modern world.

Sociological Approach

A theoretical perspective that views organizations as "social facts" embedded in a normative and cultural environment. It focuses on how legitimacy and power, rather than just efficiency, shape organizational behavior and autonomy.

Spillover Effects

A central concept in Neofunctionalism, describing the dynamic where integration in one economic or technical sector creates pressure for further integration in related sectors, potentially leading from economic to political union.

Supranationalism

An arrangement whereby national governments transfer a significant amount of sovereignty to an international governing body. The European Union is a key example.

World Polity Model

A theory that helps explain IO dysfunction by looking to external culture. It suggests IO behavior may be driven more by a search for symbolic legitimacy in the global environment than by efficiency, and that IOs may reproduce contradictions present in the wider world polity.