International Organizations: An
Alternative Structure
PS 130 World Politics
Michael R. Baysdell
Saginaw Valley State University
An Overview of International
Organizations
• Function:
– General or specialized
• Geographical:
– Global or regional
• Intergovernmental (IGOs) or nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs)
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The Origins of IGOs
• Belief in a community of humankind
• Developmental stages:
– League of Nations
– United Nations
• Big-power peacekeeping:
– UN Security Council
• Pragmatic cooperation:
– Wide range of specialized agencies: Central
Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine (1815)
is the oldest
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The Growth of IGOs
• Rapid growth in the number of all types of
IGOs during the 20th century
• Qualitative growth as well
– Roles of IGOs are expanding and taking on new
global issues and functions
– Example: International Mobile Satellite
Organization (IMMARSAT)
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Theories of IGO Growth
• Functionalism:
– “Bottom-up” evolutionary approach
– Necessity is the mother of invention:
– Begins with limited, pragmatic cooperation on narrow,
nonpolitical issues that leads to broader and higher levels of
cooperation later on
– EECECEU
• Neofunctionalism:
– “Top-down” approach
– Need to establish independent and powerful IGOs to address
current political issues
– International Criminal Court
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Reasons for Growth
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Increased international contact
Increased global interdependence
Expansion of transnational problems
Failure of state-centered system to provide security
Efforts of small states to gain strength through joint
action
• Successful role models
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Role of IGOs: Interactive Arena
• Interactive arena where nations pursue self-interest
– Disadvantages of using IGO as an interactive arena:
• IGO becomes focus of struggle and not forum for
cooperation
• Reduced support for IGOs if they do not promote
national interests and/or goals
– Advantages of use of IGO as an interactive arena:
• Intergovernmentalism
• Using IGO makes it politically easier to take action
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Role of IGOs: Center of Cooperation
• Promote and facilitate cooperation on specific issues,
often nonpolitical
• Seek to build trust and solve social and economic
issues that transcend national borders
• Regime theory: A complex of IGOs, NGOs, norms of
behavior, processes, and treaties that govern
national and international actors
– Create settings for interaction and cooperation
– The Regime for the Oceans and Seas
– The Law of the Sea Treaty creates global norms;
even non-signatories proclaim 12 mile territorial
sea
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Role of IGOs: Independent
International Actor
• Permanent administrative IGO staff increases
its authority and role
• Role of mediation and conciliation
• Organizational independence
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Role of IGOs: Supranational
Organization, continued
• Specialized supranational governance:
– World Trade Organization
• Regional government:
– European Union
– Task of overcoming nationalism and bringing
heterogeneous peoples together easier than global
government
– Allows for greater cultural diversity and political
experimentation than global government
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Role of IGOs: Supranational
Organization, continued
• World government:
– Far-reaching alternative facing many criticisms concerning
its adverse effects on national sovereignty, cultural
diversity, and political experimentation,
– Concern about the ability of world government to preserve
and extend democracy in countries around the world.
– Doubts about the problem-solving effectiveness and
unprecedented concentration of power required to
enforce international law and address world's daunting
economic and social problems.
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Role of IGOs: Supranational
Organization, continued
Issues for structuring a world or regional government
– Centralized, federal or confederal government
– Allocation of decision-making authority and power to different
executive, legislative, and judicial institutions
– Democratic opting-out rights to member nations
– Uniform monetary policy, common currency, and consensus trade
rules
– Preserving individual human rights and liberties in each nation
through constitutional and judicial protections
– Admission criteria for new members
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The United Nations
• Best known and most influential IGO
• Structure and rules are important for success
and are consistently being challenged
History of the UN
• Formed after the fall of the League of Nations which could not
successfully rule as a governing body and WW II
• Has the ability to maintain and deploy its member nations' armed
forces as peace keepers.
• The term "United Nations" was suggested by Franklin D. Roosevelt
during World War II, to refer to the Allies.
• From August to October 1944, representatives of France, the Republic
of China, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union
met to elaborate the plans at the Dumbarton Oaks Estate in
Washington, DC. Those and later talks produced the framework of the
UN (finalized in San Francisco)
• Originally 51 member countries in 1945
• Now over 200 members
UN Financing
• Financed by two methods: Assessed and Voluntary
• Assessed is decided by how large and wealthy the member
country is, therefore determining the amount of money it is
able to allocate to the UN (decided when the UN makes it’s
budget every two years).
• There is a ceiling rate for countries so the UN is not dependent
one country for its money. The ceiling rate is now 22%. Only
the United States meets this amount.
UN General Assembly
• Meets in regular yearly sessions under a president
elected from among the representatives.
• Only UN organ in which all members are represented
• Serves as a forum for members to discuss issues of
international law and make decisions on the functioning
of the organization.
• Begins on the third Tuesday in September and ends in
mid-December
• President elected at the beginning of each session
• Hold special session under request of Security Council if
majority of members or majority of a single member
• “Uniting for Peace” Resolution has not been effective
Voting in the General Assembly
• Voting on important issues--recommendations
on peace and security; election of members to
organs; admission, suspension, and expulsion
of members; budgetary matters--is by a 2/3
majority of those present and voting.
• Other questions are decided by majority vote.
• Each member country has one vote, no matter
its size or population
Security Council
• The Security Council has the power to make decisions which member
governments must carry out under the United Nations Charter.
• Deals with threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of
aggression.
• Decisions of the Council are known as UN Security Council Resolutions.
• Presidency of the Security Council is rotated and lasts for one month.
• Members must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that
the Security Council can meet at any time—weakness in League of Nations
• Revolving President sets the agenda, presides at meetings and oversees any
crisis - alternates in alphabetical order
• Permanent Members (5) Republic of China, French Republic, Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, United States of America
• Elected Members (10) elected to 2 year terms
The Secretariat
• One of the main organs of the UN
• Headed by the Secretary General, and other civil servants, and provides
information for UN Assembly meetings. It also carries out tasks as directed by
the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the UN Economic and
Social Council, and other U.N. bodies.
• The United Nations Charter provides that the staff be chosen by application of
the "highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity," with due
regard for the importance of recruiting on a wide geographical basis
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The Secretary General’s duties include:
-helping resolve international disputes,
-administering peacekeeping operations,
-organizing international conferences,
-gathering information on the implementation of Security Council decisions, and
-consulting with member governments regarding various initiatives.
The Secretary General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter that, in his or
her opinion, may threaten international peace and security.
Offices under the Secretariat
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United Nations Office of the Secretary-General
United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services
United Nations Office of Legal Affairs
United Nations Department of Political Affairs
United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs
United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
United Nations Department of General Assembly and Conference Management
United Nations Department of Public Information
United Nations Department of Management
United Nations Office of the Iraq Program
United Nations Office of the United Nations Security Coordinator
United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries,
Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
United Nations Office at Geneva
United Nations Office at Vienna
United Nations Office at Nairobi
UN Secretaries General
• Trygve Lie, Norway (1945-1953)
• Dag Hammarskjöld, Sweden (1953-1961)
• U Thant, Burma (1961-1971)
• Kurt Waldheim, Austria (1972-1981)
• Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peru (1982-1991)
• Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egypt (1992-1996)
• Kofi Annan, Ghana (1997-2006)
• Ban Ki-moon, South Korea (2006-present)
Membership Issues
• Standards for admitting new members:
– The Palestinian question
– Kosovo/Serbia dispute
• Successor state status:
– USSR -> Russia
• Withdrawal, suspension, or expulsion:
– Nationalist China (Taiwan), South Africa during
apartheid
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Representative Bodies
• Usually some plenary representative body (UN
General Assembly)
• Limited membership council (UN Security
Council—only five permanent members)
– Highly criticized:
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Inaccurate reflection of power realities
Geographic and demographic imbalance
Inequitable and unlimited veto power
Transparency and accountability of decisions
Ineffective implementation of Security Council
resolutions
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Voting Formulas
• Majority vote: 1 state, 1 vote.
– UN General Assembly
• Weighted voting by population or wealth
• Negative voting:
– Unanimity requirement
– Veto power:
• UN Security Council
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IGO Leadership
• Secretariat: Political and regional selection
considerations
• Role: Activism versus restraint
• Cases of the UN secretary-generals:
– Dag Hammarskjold (1953–1961)
– Boutros Boutros-Ghali (1992–1996)
– Kofi Annan (1997–2006)
– Ban Ki-moon (2007-Present)
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IGO Bureaucracy
• Size
• Restraints on selection of Secretariat staff
– Dominant powers make appointments
– Geographic and gender composition of staff
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UN Administration
• Administrative reform:
– Staff and budget considerations and cutbacks
– Issues of gender equality
– Corruption (e.g., Iraq Oil for Food Program)
• Putting charges of maladministration in
perspective:
– U.S. comparisons
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Financing the United Nations:
The Elements of the UN Budget
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Core budget
Peacekeeping budget
Voluntary contributions budget
Severe and controversial budget problems
Dependent on assessment with little power
to raise support
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UN Budget Crunch
• Growing cost of operations
• Size of bureaucracy
• Unwillingness of member-countries to pay
dues
– U.S. debt cleared by Congress only recently
• Criticism of assessment scheme: eight
countries pay 76% of costs
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European Union
Member/Potential Member Countries of the EU
Demographics
• Institution sites: Brussels, Luxembourg, Strasbourg
• Monetary Authority: European Central Bank
• 27 Member States
• Currency: Euro
• 23 official Languages
• Area: 4,324,782 km² (7th)
• Population:497,198,740 (3rd)
• 114 people/square km
• GDP: $14.712 trillion (1st) U.S. $14.5T
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Life Expectancy: 78 years total population/75.8 for males and 81.9 for females
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Major Imports: oil, electrical machinery, office machines
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Major Exports: road vehicles, electrical machinery, industrial machinery
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European Anthem: “Hymn to Joy”
History of European Integration
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1946- Winston Churchill gives speech at the University of Zürich, calling for a
"United States of Europe"
1949- Formation of the Council of Europe
1950- Robert Schuman presented his proposal for the creation of an integrated
Europe. This proposal, known as the "Schuman Declaration", is considered to be the
beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
1951- Treaty of Paris forms the European Coal and Steel Community. Six founding
countries: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, West Germany, France, Italy
1954- French National Assembly refuses to ratify the European Defense Community
treaty
1957- Treaty of Rome establishes the European Economic Community (EEC) and the
European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom)
1960- Britain and other OEEC members who didn't belong to the EEC formed an
alternative association, the European Free Trade Association
1963- Charles DeGaulle vetoes Britain’s membership in the EEC. DeGaulle vetoes
another attempt at membership in 1967.
1966- Luxembourg compromise
1967- EEC, ECSC and Euratom merge into the European Community
1972- Ireland, Denmark and Norway hold referenda on whether to join
EU History 1973-Present
1973- Britain successfully joins the EU.
1979- First direct elections for the European Parliament
1981- Greece joins the EU
1985- Greenland leaves the union after home rule and a referendum
1985- Schengen treaty: open borders within EU without passports
1986- Portugal and Spain join the EU
1986- Single European Act signed in Luxembourg
1992- Maastricht Treaty
1993- Criteria were drawn and established at the European Council in Copenhagen,
Denmark. (Copenhagen Criteria)
1997- Treaty of Amsterdam
1995- Austria, Sweden and Finland (with Åland) are admitted
2001- Treaty of Nice
2003- Treaty of Accession signed in Athens
2004-EU Constitution rejected
2007- Bulgaria and Romania join the EU
2007—Treaty of Lisbon negotiated
2008—Treaty of Lisbon rejected by Ireland
2009—Treaty of Lisbon approved by Ireland and Czech Republic; enters into force
Treaties of European Union
• The Treaty of Paris (1951) created the European Steel and Coal Community (ESCC).
• The Treaties of Rome (1957) established the European Economic Community (EEC)
and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC)
• The Schengen Agreement (1985) eliminated border controls between member
countries (now currently 24)
• The Single European Act (1986) introduced measures aimed at achieving an
internal market and greater political cooperation.
• The Maastricht Treaty (1992) established EU citizenship and the European
Monetary Union (EMU).
• The Amsterdam Treaty (1997) introduced measures to reinforce political union and
prepare for enlargement towards the East.
• The Nice Treaty (2001) defined the institutional changes necessary for
enlargement.
• The Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe sought to simplify and synthesize
previous treaties within a single, clear, foundational document for the European
Union. It was rejected in 2007 by French and Dutch voters, leading to the Treaty of
Lisbon (2009) after a “period of reflection”
• The Treaty of Lisbon (2009), among other things, eliminated the pillar system and
established a President of the European Council and Foreign Minister
Schengen Agreement, 1985
• Eliminated
borders
between
countries that
were signatories
The Single European Act
• Apart from minor modifications, this Treaty was the
first profound and wide-ranging constitutional
reform of the EU since the 1950s.
• The SEA introduced measures aimed at achieving an
internal market (for instance, harmonization) plus
institutional changes related to these (such as a
generalization of qualified majority voting and a
cooperation procedure involving the European
Parliament).
• It also provided legal form for European Political
Cooperation (EPC). The SEA was signed in February
1986 and came into force on 1 July 1987.
Maastricht Treaty
• The Treaty on European Union initiated the road to political
and economic and monetary union. It was drafted at a
historic juncture in which the reunification of Germany and
the fall of the Soviet block made necessary a re-thinking of
the European project.
• Created EU citizenship and the EMU
• Created the so-called three pillar structure.
• 3 Pillars: European Community (EC) pillar, the Common
Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) pillar, and the Justice and
Home Affairs (JHA) pillar
• It was signed on 7 February 1992 and came into force on 1
November 1993.
Pillar 1 Issues: European Community
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Customs Union and Single Market
Common Agriculture
Common Fisheries Policy
EU competition law
EU Citizenship
Education and Culture
Trans-European Network
Consumer protection
Health Care
Research
Environmental law
Social policy
Immigration
Pillar 2 Issues:
Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)
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Foreign Policy:
Human Rights
Democracy
Foreign aid
• Security policy:
• European Security and Defense Policy
• EU battle groups
• European Rapid Reaction Force
• Peacekeeping
Pillar 3 : Police & Judicial Cooperation
• Cooperation in the fight against crime.
• This pillar was originally named Justice and Home
Affairs
• Examples:
• Drug trafficking and weapons smuggling
• Terrorism
• Organized crime
Ratification of Maastricht Treaty
• Difficulties in various states
• A referendum in France only narrowly
supported it, with 51.05% in favor, and
Denmark rejected the original treaty, only to
hold a 2nd referendum and pass it
Amsterdam Treaty
• Enlargement towards the East plus several pending
issues on the EU agenda prompted the negotiation of
the Treaty of Amsterdam just four years after the
conclusion of the Treaty of Maastricht.
• Negotiations, however, took place in a much less
optimistic climate. The Treaty of Amsterdam opened
the way towards reinforced or closer cooperation but
it failed to resolve institutional issues created by the
forthcoming enlargement.
• It was signed on 2 October 1997 and came into force
on 1 May 1999.
Nice Treaty
• The Nice Treaty dealt mainly with the
institutional adaptations required for the
expansion of the Union to 25 Member States.
• These issues remained unresolved with the
Treaty of Amsterdam and they provided the
background for the one of the most difficult
negotiations in the history of the Union. The
Treaty was signed on 26 February 2001 and
came into force on 2 February 2003.
Constitutional Treaty for Europe
(2004)
• Towards the end of the 20th century, it became clear for a
large number of European leaders that the EU required a refoundation and renovation.
• From an initial agenda that included the distribution of
competencies, simplification and the incorporation of the
Charter of Fundamental Rights, the Convention on the Future
of Europe produced a fully-fledged proposal for a Constitution
or Constitutional Treaty for Europe.
• Italian and Irish Presidencies had led the negotiation and final
approval of this document.
• On 29 October 2004, the Heads of State or Government of the
25 Member States and the 3 candidate countries signed the
Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
• Needed to be ratified by all 25 member states of the enlarged
Union.
• Rejected by French and Dutch voters in separate referenda
The Treaty of Lisbon (2009)
• Prominent changes included more qualified majority voting in the
Council of Ministers
• Increased involvement of the European Parliament in the
legislative process through extended co-decision with the Council
of Ministers
• Eliminated the pillar system and the creation of a long-term
President of the European Council and a High Representative of
the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to present a
united position on EU policies.
• The Treaty also made the Union's human rights charter, the
Charter of Fundamental Rights, legally binding
The Government of the EU: A Prototype
• Political leadership:
– Council of Ministers (Council of the European Union):
Weighted votes, sets policy
• Bureaucracy:
– European Commission: Implements policy
– President of the Commission
• Oversight agencies
• Legislature:
– European Parliament
• Judiciary:
– Courts of Justice, First Instance, Auditors
– European Ombudsman
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Judicial Branch
• European Court of Justice
• European Court of Human Rights created by European Convention on Human
Rights
• Single European Act established a junior Court of First Instance in 1989
The European Court of Justice
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27 judges-one from each state appointed for 6 years. Ensures that EU law is properly applied
and to resolve disputes between governments, EU institutions, and citizens over that law
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Types of Proceedings for the Court of Justice
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actions for failure to fulfill obligations under the treaties (Commission vs. member state)
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actions by one member state against another
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actions on grounds of failure to act (against Council or Commission)
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references from national courts for preliminary rulings to clarify the meaning and scope of
Community law
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claims for damages against the Community
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works by unanimity unlike the U.S. Supreme Court
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all member states are obliged to accept its rulings and powers which are stated in the
Treaties of Paris and Rome
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decisions are not subject to appeal
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increasingly large caseload
Other European Courts
• European Court of Human Rights
• Serious challenges to sovereignty—Ireland
• UK foxhunting issue
• Court of First Instance rules on:
• Staff cases
• Actions in the field of competition law
• Actions under antidumping law
• Actions under the ECSC Treaty
Executive Branch
• Headed by European Commission but now
potentially by European Council President
• Jobs:
– Proposing new legislation
– Implementing EU policies and the budget
– Enforcing European law
– Representing the EU on the international
stage
Legislative Branch
• European Parliament (EP)
• Elections are held every five years
• The present parliament has 785 members from all 27
EU countries. Nearly one third of them are women.
• Jobs:
– Passing European laws
– Democratic supervision
– The power of the purse
The Council of the European Union
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The Council is the EU's main decision-making body and is composed of twenty-seven national
ministers (one per state).
The exact membership depends upon the topic; for example, when discussing the agricultural
policy the Council is formed by the twenty-seven national ministers whose portfolio includes this
policy area (with the related European Commissioner contributing but not voting)
The Council has six key responsibilities:
To pass European laws – jointly with the European Parliament in many policy areas.
To co-ordinate the broad economic policies of the member states.
To conclude international agreements between the EU and other countries or international
organisations.
To approve the EU’s budget, jointly with the European Parliament.
To develop the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), based on guidelines set by the
European Council.
To co-ordinate co-operation between the national courts and police forces in criminal matters
(see the Freedom, security and justice section).
There are nine different Council configurations:
– General Affairs and External Relations
– Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN)
– Justice and Home Affairs (JHA)
– Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs
– Competitiveness
– Transport, Telecommunications and Energy
– Agriculture and Fisheries
– Environment
– Education, Youth and Culture
The Future of the European Union
• Duality about further integration; several
determining and controversial factors
• Questions about further expansion, state
sovereignty, jobs, agricultural trade subsidies by
individual nations, Britain's refusal to adopt common
currency (the Euro), and immigration
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IGO Activities:
Promoting International Peace and Security
• Creating norms against violence
• Providing a debate alternative
• Diplomatic intervention
– Inquiry, good offices, mediation,
arbitration, and adjudication
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher
Education
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IGO Activities, continued
• Sanctions:
– Diplomatic and economic (e.g., Iran and Sudan)
• Peacekeeping:
– Expanding role: from neutral buffers to military
intervention to nation-building efforts (e.g., Lebanon,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo)
• Arms Control and Disarmament:
– International Atomic Energy Agency—promotes and
monitors the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons (e.g.,
North Korea)
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher
Education
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Social, Economic, Environmental, and
Other Activities of IGOs
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Economic development
Human rights
The environment
International law and norms
The quality of human existence
Independence
©2007 McGraw-Hill Higher
Education
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Evaluating IGOs and Their Future
• Standards:
– What are the ultimate goals?
– Has progress been made?
– What is possible?
– Do any alternatives exist?
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CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
• 1. Discuss the nature and development of international organization as an alternative form organizing
and conducting international relations.
• 2. Identify the roots of international organization as a primarily modern phenomenon.
• 3.Trace the growth of intergovernmental organizations during the 20th century.
• 4. Summarize the traditional goals and activities of international organizations.
• 5. Examine and discuss the current and expanding roles of IGO.
• 6. Discuss the concept of world and regional government.
• 7. Describe IGO structure by evaluating the experience of the United Nations.
• 8. Identify the promotion of international peace and security as the primary IGO activity, as exemplified
by the United Nations.
• 9. Outline major social, economic, environmental, and other roles of intergovernmental organizations.
• 10. Speculate regarding the shape of international organization in the future.
• 11. Explain the prospect of effective supranational organizations for international governance, making
reference to the evolution of the European Union.
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