IO quiz 1

International Organization (IO)

a formal organization with members from three or more states pursuing a specific set of goals. An organization is something you can physically visit.

IGO (Intergovernmental Organization)

Members are states represented by governments (e.g., UN, World Bank, NATO).

International NGO

Members are individuals, groups, or associations (e.g., Amnesty International, WWF) — does NOT officially represent governments.

Hybrid organization

Members from both inside and outside government (e.g., International Labour Organization).

International institution

Broader than "organization" — includes rules, norms, and practices that shape behavior, not just formal bodies with headquarters.

Regime

"Sets of implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules, and decision-making procedures around which actors' expectations converge" in a given issue area (may or may not include a formal organization).

Global governance

The collective management of common problems at the international level (simple definition); Weiss & Thakur's broader definition: "the sum of laws, norms, policies, and institutions that define, constitute, and mediate relations" among citizens, society, markets, and the state.

what is the first modern IO still in existance?

First modern IO still in existence: Central Commission for Navigation of the Rhine (1815), from the Congress of Vienna.

what was the predecessor for the UN Security Council

The Concert of Europe (Great Powers, post-Napoleonic Wars) is seen as a prototype for the UN Security Council.

what was the predecessor for the UN

The League of Nations (1920) was the forerunner of the UN; based in Geneva; failed and dissolved in 1946. Key weaknesses: no US membership, unanimity voting requirement, unable to stop Japan/Italy/Germany aggression.

what led up to the development of the UN Security Council

the Concert of Europe (1815) and then the League of Nations (1920)

what were the major post WW2 IOs founded

from 1944-1951: the UN, World Bank, IMF, GATT (later WTO), European Coal and Steel Community (later EU)

how many conventional IGOs and international/regional NGOs are there today

oday there are roughly 290 conventional IGOs and nearly 10,000 international/regional NGOs (Yearbook of International Organizations)

what are the budgets for the UN core and UN peacekeeping

UN core budget (2022): ~$3.12 billion; UN peacekeeping budget: ~$6.4 billion

list the reasons states create IOs

1. Provide a forum for regular communication and cooperation.

2. Pool financial, technological, and analytical resources.

3. Offer international legitimacy for foreign policy actions (e.g., US seeking UN approval for Korean War).

4. "Lock in" a favorable post-war order (Ikenberry's argument) — even though this restrains the creator's own power.

5. Symbolic value (e.g., former Soviet bloc states joining NATO to signal belonging to "the West").

6. Serve as a scapegoat for unpopular domestic policy decisions (e.g., states blaming the UN, or governments using IMF conditionality to justify painful reforms).

7. Signal domestic political commitments (e.g., new democracies joining democracy heavy IOs).

8. Adjudicate disputes (ICJ, WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism).

9. Pool sovereignty (the EU is the most advanced example).

timeline of the evolution of IO theory

• Pre-WW2; Descriptive studies rooted in diplomatic history and interntaionl law (Wilsonian idealism, league of Nations)

• 1940-50s: International Organization journal founded in 1947, early empirical/theoretical work on new post-war IOs

• 1960s: Behavioralism dominates, quantitive analysis of UN General Assembly voting patterns

• 1960-70s: Integration theory (studying European integration). Key concept “spillover” (Ernst Haas) integration in one area creates pressure for integration in others. Karl Deutsch studied “security communities”

• 1970-90s: Realism/Neorealism rises-Kenneth Waltz’s "Theory of International Politics” is central. States are unitary, rational actors operating in an anarchic system, IOs matter little independently

• 1970s: regime theory emerges (broader than formal IOs), critiqued by Susan Strange as “wooly”

• 1990s-present: Constructivism grows, focus on ideas, norms, identity. Barnett and Finnemore (constructivists) argue IOs are “social creatures” that can behave disfunctionally precisely because of the same bureaucratic features that give them authority (rules, expertise), their key Rwanda example: UN peacekeeping’s neutrality norms helped justify standing aside during the genocide

can states cooperate?

realists/neorealists: states care about power and self interest. states are suspicious of each other. IOs mostly refect what powerful states want.

Instituionalism: states still care about self-interest but they can cooperate. Instituions can make cooperation easier. IOs can help states cooperate by creating rules, information, monitoring, etc.

both are rationalists because they assume states have interests and make strategic decisions. they disagree about how possible/effective international cooperation is.

where do states’ interests come from?

rationalists: economics. People/states already have interests. they make decisions based on those interests.

interests—> decisions

constructivists: sociology. ideas, norms, culture, identity, and social interaction can shape what states actually want.

ideas/norms/identity—> interests—> decisions

are international organizations just places where states do stuff, or can IOs actually do stuff themselves?

outside in: IOs as stages/instruments

states create the organization and use it to pursue their interests. the IO is the stage where states interact. tools/stages created and controlled by states (realists and liberals tend toward this perspective).

Inside out: IOs as actors. IOs are necessarily just puppets of states. Once created, they develop their own bureaucracies, rules, expertise, preferences, and ways of behaving. actors that can develop independent behavior and influence international politics (constructivists and agency theorists tend toward this perspective)

Kenneth Waltz

neorealist

Theory of International Politics (1979)

John Mearsheimer

realist critique of institutions ("The False Promise of International Institutions")

Ernst Haas

“spillover”

integration theory

Michael Barnett & Martha Finnemore

constructivist bureaucracy theory

IOs as “social creatures”

direct Rwanda application

G. John Ikenberry

After Victory; "locking in" favorable order argument

Susan Strange

critique of regime theory as "woolly"

founding and structure of the UN

UN Charter approved June 25, 1945.

Six main organs: Security Council, General Assembly, ECOSOC, Secretariat, International Court of Justice (ICJ), Trusteeship Council (now inactive)

The Security Council

- 5 permanent members (P5) with veto power: US, UK, France, Russia, China.

- 10 non-permanent members serve 2-year terms.

- Primary responsibility: maintaining international peace and security.

- The veto is the single most important structural feature limiting collective action (directly relevant to Rwanda and Ukraine discussions).

The General Assembly

- All member states, one vote each.

- Resolutions are non-binding (recommendations only).

- "Uniting for Peace" resolution allows the GA to act when the Security Council is deadlocked (used after Russia's veto on Ukraine in 2022).

The Secretariat & Secretary-General

- Administrative arm of the UN; the Secretary-General has both administrative and some independent political/moral authority.

- Relevant to Rwanda: Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's leadership during the genocide is directly criticized in Chapter 4

Peacekeeping — Core Concepts

- Traditional peacekeeping is based on: consent of parties, impartiality, and minimal use of force (only in self-defense).

- These principles were designed for stable, post-conflict, ceasefire conditions — NOT active combat or genocide.

- Chapter VI of the UN Charter: peaceful settlement of disputes (consensual, no enforcement power).

- Chapter VII: allows the Security Council to authorize enforcement action, including use of force.

- Key case studies covered: Bosnia and Somalia — both are examples of peacekeeping failures/limits that directly shaped the international response to Rwanda.

- Somalia (1993): US Rangers killed in Mogadishu ("Black Hawk Down") — occurred roughly 6 months before the Rwandan genocide and heavily influenced US/UN reluctance to intervene in Rwanda.

- R2P (Responsibility to Protect): norm developed after Rwanda and Kosovo, asserting the international community has a responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity when their own government fails to do so.

Rwanda genocide timeline of key events

• August 1993- Arusha Accords signed (peace agreement)

• October 1993- UNAMIR arrives, 2,500 personnel authorized. mandate; security of Kigali, monitor ceasefire, coordinate humanitarian relief

• Jan 11, 1994: Dallaire’s “genocide fax” warns of death squads planning to kill 1,000 Tutsis in 20 minutes; HQ orders him to stand down

• April 6, 1994: President Habyarimana’s plane shot down, triggers the genocide

• April 1994: 10 Belgian peacekeepers tortured and killed, Belgium withdraws troops

• April 21, 1994: Security Council votes unanimously to reduce UNAMIR to 270 troops

• May 17, 1994: Security Council votes to increase troop levels and impose an arms embargo (UNAMIR II)

• June 1994: France launches Operation Turquoise (2,500 troops)

• June 1994: State Department spokeswoman avoids the word “genocide” in press briefing

• July 18, 1994: RPF delcares victory, genocide ends, stopped by RPF military victory, not international intervention

UNAMIR's mandate was a Chapter VI-style mandate (consensual, no enforcement authority) — it could not use force to stop killings

what was the death toll of the Rwandan genocide?

Death toll: roughly 800,000 people killed in about 100 days (chapter also cites estimates of over half a million to 800,000+; more than 75% of the Tutsi population killed).

who eneded the Rwandan genocide?

The genocide was ultimately ended by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) military victory under Paul Kagame, not by international intervention.

why did the US avoid using the word genocide?

The 1948 Genocide Convention obligates signatories to prevent and punish genocide — this is why the US avoided using the word "genocide

what other state objected to the use of the word “genocide” to describe the events in Rwanda

China, not just the US, objected to using the word "genocide" in a June 1994 Security Council resolution (replaced with "acts of genocide").

what are the three perspectives on the Rwandan genocide?

1. Samantha Power- the US bears primary blame. It was a deliberate policy choice to stay out. Additionally the US led efforts to remove UN peacekeepers and avoided the word “genocide” to dodge Convention obligations

2. Alan Kuperman- Even fast intervention likely couldnt have stopped the genocide. The real failure was long-term prevention, not troop speed. The genocide moved too fast, intelligence was poor, “intervention is no substitute for prevention”

3. Michael Barnett- UN Secretariat/bureaucracy failed on its own institutional terms. the Secretariat never informed the Security Counil of the genocide fax. Boutros-Ghali didnt “educate himself” about the crisis. Peacekeeping neutrality rules enabled inaction.

true or false: The primary difference between a traditional nongovernmental organization (NGO) and an intergovernmental organization (IGO) is that members of an NGO do not officially represent state governments

True

true or false: During the first Trump administration (2017-2021), the US officially withdrew its membership from the World Trade Organization (WTO)

False

True or False: According to the general defintion used in the text, an international organization (IO) must have formal members from at least three or more states

True

True or False: Kenneth Waltz, in his 1979 book Theory of International Politics, argued that a state’s domestic politcs are the single most important determinant of its international behavior

false: Waltz argued that the anarchic structure of the international system is the primary determinant of international behavior

true or false: according to sociological institutionalists, institutions consist not only of formal rules, norms, and organizations, but also include “symbol systems, cognitive scripts, and moral templates”

true

why does the book mention Bosnia and Somalia as one of the UN’s prominent missions?

Bosnia and Somalia are two specific cases of unsuccessful violent missions. For example, the US troops went to Somalia nad many US soldiers were killed and had to withdraw from the mission.

true or false: Under the R2P norm, the international community is strictly forbidden from ever violating a nation’s sovereignty

False

true or false: under the United Nations Charter, the General Assembly holds the primary responsibility for authorizing, establishing, and deploying UN peacekeeping operations

False

the Security Council holds the primary responsibility for doing these things

True or False: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the only one of the UN’s six principal organs that is not located in New York City

True: the ICJ is located in the Netherlands

UNAMIR’s original mandate was authorized under which chapter of the UN Charter?

Chapter VI

Under UNAMIR’s original mandate, could peacekeepers use force to stop civilians from being killed?

Oonly in self defense against direct attacks on peacekeepers themselves

When Dallaire requested authorization to raid a weapons cache in January 1994, what did UN headquarters do?

Ordered him to suspend the raid, citing mandate limits

According to the chapter, why were the US and UK reluctant to reinforce UNAMIR once the genocide began?

they did not want a repeat of the peacekeeping failures in Somalia

What did the security council vote do with UNAMIR’s troop levels on April 21, 1994?

Reduce troops to 270

what event directly preceded and triggered the April 21, 1994 Security Council vote?

10 belgian peacekeepers were tortured and killed

which country’s troop withdrawal directly prompted the broader UN pullback from Rwanda?

Belgium

Why was the US State Department reluctant to use the word “genocide” in June 1994?

Using it would trigger obligations to act under the 1948 Genocide Convention

Besides the US, which P5 member also objected to using the word “genocide” in a June 1994 Security Council resolution?

China