International Organizations
Key Terms
nongovernmental organizations, intergovernmental
organizations, supranational organizations
Find Out
• What is the basic structure of the United Nations?
• What is the history of the European Union’s
development?
International Organizations
Understanding Concepts
Political Processes How does the UN Security
Council operate and guide the decisions of the
General Assembly?
Section Objective
Evaluate the impact of international organizations
on global affairs.
The idea of the European Union was
conceived to prevent the killing and
destruction of World War II from ever
happening again. The idea was first
proposed by French foreign minister Robert
Schuman in a speech on May 9, 1950. This
date, the “birthday” of what is now the EU, is
celebrated annually as Europe Day.
I. The United Nations (pages 702–704)
A. The United Nations (UN) provides a forum
for nations to settle disputes peacefully
through cooperation rather than conflict.
B. The General Assembly is made up of
delegations of five representatives from
each member nation.
C. The UN Security Council is composed of 15
nations, 5 of which are permanent members.
It has the authority to make peacekeeping
decisions for the UN.
D. The Secretariat conducts the UN’s day-today business and is headed by the
Secretary General, who carries out the
instructions of the Security Council.
I. The United Nations (pages 702–704)
E. The International Court of Justice settles
disputes involving international law.
F. The Economic and Social Council
promotes social and economic progress
around the world.
G. The UN also has special agencies that
carry out humanitarian activities.
H. UN peacekeeping often involves inserting
an international force of troops between
combatants to calm volatile situations;
sometimes lightly armed peacekeeping
forces will oversee elections or provide
humanitarian aid.
I. The United Nations (pages 702–704)
I. The United Nations (pages 702–704)
Some Americans object to a nation’s
having to surrender any portion of its
sovereignty to the United Nations. What is
your opinion?
Answers will vary. This has been a sensitive
issue in American politics since 1945.
II. The European Union (pages 704–706)
A. The European Union (EU) is a political
and economic partnership among 15
European nations.
B. The EU began in 1957 as a trading market
among six Western European nations; as
more countries joined, the Maastricht Treaty
enabled the EU to gain power and begin
acting as a political unit.
C. Major EU policy is decided by the Council of
the European Union.
II. The European Union (pages 704–706)
D. The European Parliament contains 732
members and is the legislative branch of
the EU.
E. The European Court of Justice hears
cases and can declare laws of member
nations invalid if they conflict with EU
treaty obligations.
F. The European Commission does the daily
work in the EU; the President of the
Commission directs the large EU bureaucracy
and oversees the annual budget.
II. The European Union (pages 704–706)
Many Europeans complain that the EU
bureaucracy is too large and is not
responsive to the needs of the public.
What is your opinion?
Answers will vary. Students should
demonstrate knowledge of the structure of
EU government.
Checking for Understanding
1. Main Idea Use a graphic organizer like the one
below to summarize the two international
organizations described in this section.
UN—191 member nations; wants to preserve
world peace, encourage nations to act fairly,
and help nations to cooperate in solving
problems.
EU—25 member nations; formed to allow
European nations to band together to cooperate
politically and economically.
Checking for Understanding
2. Define nongovernmental organizations,
intergovernmental organizations, supranational
organizations.
Nongovernmental organizations are
international organizations comprised of
individuals and groups outside the scope of
government.
Intergovernmental organizations are
organizations comprised of members of national
governments.
Supranational organizations are organizations
whose authority overrides the sovereignty of its
individual members.
Checking for Understanding
3. Identify General Assembly, Security
Council, Secretariat, Maastricht Treaty,
European Parliament.
The General Assembly is the central council that
discusses, debates, and recommends solutions presented
to the United Nations.
The Security Council is the executive board of the UN
and has the authority to make peacekeeping decisions.
The Secretariat is responsible for the UN’s day-to-day
business operations.
The Maastricht Treaty is a treaty that has allowed for
greater integration of political and economic power in
the EU.
The European Parliament is the legislative branch of
the EU.
Checking for Understanding
4. List some incidences where the UN has acted
as a peacekeeper in a nonmilitary setting.
Examples may include overseeing elections or
providing humanitarian aid.
Checking for Understanding
5. How has European Union expansion affected
the European Commission?
It has changed the makeup of the European
Commission as far as how many members
represent each participating nation.
Critical Thinking
6. Analyzing Information Should the five
permanent members of the UN Security Council
be able to override any UN decision? Why or
why not?
Students’ responses will vary but should be
supported by evidence from the text.
Political Processes Identify and find
out about the duties, responsibilities,
and programs of the specialized
agencies of the United Nations. Create a
poster that illustrates the work of these
agencies. Display completed posters in
the classroom.