international organizations

International organizations

• world order: some influences on world order that we can tidy, security, war, human rights, economics = multinational issues, cyber security, media coverage; can be studied psychologically, sociologically, historically (a record of patterned actions or making)

• World order: governance; rather than government emphasizing that norms are being established and affairs regulated in the absence of an overarching government (instead of the government, external influential force has the dominance over people, rules and norms can still happen even if there’s no single government in charge) eg. WTO global trade, there’s no single government directly between the representatives of governments (when countries work together by having their own government representative meet and make decisions directly with each other)

• Super nationalism: government delegate decision making to the IGO and the people making the decisions are at least in principle acting for the benefit of the group and not the individual memeber (when governments give up some control to an international organization, like the EU, making decisions for everyone’s benefit, not for the country)

• Institutions: persistent and connected sets of rules (formal and informal) that prescribe behavioural roles, constrain activity and shape expectations (eg. correctional prisons, democracy, family powers, schools)

• Types of International Organization: International Governmental Organizations: organizations whose memberships consists of three or more nation states

  • Generally defined as having permanent secretariats or bureaucracies eg. The UN, world affairs organizations, NATO, WHO, a group of countries that come togeatherto work on common goals eg trade, security, health

  • Eg. UN has universal or nearly universal membership, meaning that every state is a member, others have subsets of states as members, based on either a particular interest or particular religion (can include transnational affairs like poverty, climate change, refugees

• Transnational actors: organizations that work across national boundaries but whose memberships consists are NOT states eg. Multinational companies that have operations in more than one country, transnational crime organizations, transnational nongovernmental organizations NGO eg. WHO, uniceif, Red Cross, doctors without boarders, or transnational cooperations like Apple, Samsung, Mcdoannds can have more money than smaller states

• Why form international organizations

  • Neoliberal institutionalism: states form IGOs because it is in their interest to do so (how to effectively and sustainably proceed things)

  • Neoliberal Institutionsist believe that countries face problems when they all act in their own self-interest (which can hurt everyone)

  • Prisoners dilemma = cooperation would be best for all but countries worry other wont. Do their part

• Transaction costs can reduce the efforts needed to negotiate and organize collaboration

• Information can collect and provide data to states to create fruitful bases for negotiation

• Monitoring can ensure that other states are fulfilling their obligations more cheaply and with greater neutrality than can the parties to agreements

• IR THEORIES

  • Realism: power, politics, might equal rights, zero-sum games, states are fighting for survival in a self help world (states mainly act in their self interests, focus on powers and security, states are always competing for power are sovereign, cooperation is rare, counties only work together if it benefits them

  • Liberalism: interdependence and cooperation, non zero sum game (states work together to solve problems, democracy and trade, international organizations like the UN help promote peace and cooperation transnationalism connectedness to create more peaceful world

  • Neoliberalism: focus on domestic political values and internal institutions as key shapers of states international behaviour, shifts greater emphasis to the system as well but examines the connective tissue between states rather than just states themselves; the idea that counties can cooperate and trade to benefit everyone instead of competing for power, countries build les and organizations to solve problems together and boost the economy

  • Constructivism: wat in which identities, interests and policies of states an other actors. Are constructed through political action and rhetoric rather than being given or resulting purely from material forces or rational choice (argues social order; beliefs, norms, values, interests, rules, institutions, says that countries ideas and identities aren’t just about their money, power, or logic shapes how people;e talk, act, think n politics)

  • Constructivism offers challenge to neoliberal and neoliberalism assumptions about states international behaviour system and anarchy, a focus o material force over individual forces (to explain how people behave) the way we think a bout the world alters the way we act in it   

• NATO a prominent security organization and significant amassing of military power

  • emerged from Cold War to balance Soviet Union and its allies, a collective security defence organization, protecting interests of the United States and allies, any threat against member states, ensuring mutual defence goal = deter Soviet expansion and safeguard sovignty or member states, NATO membership provides security, was designed as a deterrent preventing Soviet Union from attacking NATO counties, NATO enhances deterrence through nuclear weapons; sates member without nuclear weapon capabilities benefit from the deterrent within the alliance with other state members

• Evolution and adaptation; evolved beyond collective security and deterrence, fostering socialization and common approach, changed its mission after the Soviet Union dissolved

• Neoliberalism views NATO as alliance based on common threats and interests; was formed to prevent Soviet Union and Russia from expanding to Western Europe

• Neorealism alliances form to balance against existing security threats, the theory predicts if threat disappears, the alliance should dissolve sates jining to enhance their security benefits (if power is not equally distributed, NATO will see cracks)

• Regional organizations are limited to specific geographical areas, unlike global organizations, groups of countries in a specific geographic area that cooperate on political, condominium, security, ad social issues; promoting regional stability (resolve conflicts, enforce agreements, support democratic governance, fostering economic integration, encourage trade and economic cooperation within regions) collective security and defences (provides mutual defence and address regional threats eg. NATO in Europe and North America) amplifying regional voice globally (help member states influence global institutions like the UN or WTO)

• Regional realizations are more sensitive to the history and relationships of their members (eg. Understanding language, past interactions and geographies) civil wars, state collapse, or natural disasters affect regional organizations, security organizations are less mandated to address these issues, the EU suggests a trend towards collectivized societies sharing identities, cultures, and politics, regional organizations may provide economic stability and protect against foreign intervention   

• Examples of regional cooperation, US and Canada align in different configuration, African states considering similar approach to the EU for economic stability

• Super national organizations: Eu referred as a regional organization, member states give up some sovereignty to a higher regional government’s, cooperation is voluntary in the EU with members seeing utitility in it (this challenges the notion that s global government is inherently negative) historically, resistance to foreign authority because of colonialism, but EU suggests that giving up sovereignty addresses world problems and stability

• The EU has executive, legislative and judicial branch (similar to nation states) some security issues are more comfortably addressed at the individual state

• The United Nations as a global organization, most visible IGO with the broadest scope membership is universal, every sovereign state welcome every state is recognized as equal within the UN, has a general assembly line where each state has equal vote

• The United provides litmus test for global opinions on certain issues, elevates transparency and lowed states to bring attention to issues (is the closest thing to an international community) credit and legitimacy, idea of red community support like human rights UN serves for solving global problems effectively without force, UN can touch on issues of national sovereignty and interfere in domestic affairs, they also value democracy and pluralism , has UN Security Council with permanent members with veto power, veto power can prevent UN from taking action on certain areas UNSC (United Nations security council) created to prevent third world war and UN survival