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International Organisations – Recap Questions and Summary WT 2014/15
1st session: Why study IOs?
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How do organizations and regimes differ?
è Organizations: formal, continuously working institutions, based on a multilateral treaty
between states which is a legal entity and has physical presence; they are not necessarily
tied to specific issue areas
è Regime: framework of rules (principles, norms, decision making procedures) based on a
multilateral or a set of treaties between states; they are tied to specific areas/problems
An international organization may be home to different regimes (framework of rules),
but a regime my also include different international organizations, frequently,
international organizations have formative impact on regimes
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e
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What does it mean to regard international organizations as either tools/instruments, arenas
or actors?
è As tools/instruments: through which (especially powerful states) pursue interests
è Arenas: in which states convene (communicate, exchange, information, coordinate their
actions = cooperate)
è Actos: autonomous capacities, authority has been delegated
Three different views on international organizations
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There are substantial different
opinions on how effective they are in governance systems and the degree to which they are
successful in solving the problems leading to their creation
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è International regimes can and do make a difference, although often in conjunction with a
number of other factors and that a strategy of using a number of tools combined can
help to improve understanding of the determinants of success
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1 - Neoliberal Institutionalism on cooperation & IOs
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costs
and benefits), difficulty of organizing shared interests or enough mutual interests

è Distinct from harmony where no policy adjustments are necessary, usually involves
negotiations and bargaining
è No option, but a strategy of self-interested actors to achieve as much as possible
è The aim of achieving ‘absolute’ gain through cooperation
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What is the difference between ‘problem-solving’ and ‘goal attainment’ regarding
effectiveness?
è Problem solving: an institution effectively contributes to solving a problem which led to
the institution’s creation in the first place
è Goal attainment: an institution is effective insofar as the goals on which members have#
agreed are being met; goals might have been, deliberately or not, set below the level of
‘solving’ the problem!
Key tenets of neoliberal institutionalism:
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States are still the primary actors (although it is acknowledged that non-state actors such
as MNC’s, NGOs play a role)
Anarchy is the ordering principle of the international system, yet cooperation is possible
(under specific conditions) and necessary
Interdependence induces a need for more coordination and cooperation, in order to
stabilize cooperation, international organisations and regimes are created by selfinterested states
NLI explicitly acknowledges that there are more important policy areas in international
politics than just military security
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Complex Interdependence as model of world politics (global economic relations,
ecological issues, new actors, but states remain important)
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Cooperation (see above)
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2 - Realism and Constructivism on IOs
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In what sense are IOs involved in the creation of norms (constructivism)?
è Identity of actors and arenas
è Norms are created: 1
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IOs are more active and
norms are emerged by them
è IOs themselves may act as norm entrepreneurs/ creators
è Norms create IOs and IOs create further norms
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What is strikingly similar in all three IR theories regarding IOs?
è All have the perspective of how IOs relate to states and performance related to states
è No theory looks at the inside of an IOS
Key Tenets of Realism:
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States as only actors (states are compelled to maximize power and security on national
interest, states may seek to opportunities to enhance their power, they go for relative gains,
only absolute gains may be translated to a factual loss of power if others gain more)
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Cooperation (focus on non-cooperative features of world politics; cooperation
might be possible in the sense of forming alliances which contain or balance the power
claims of some state that is regarded a threat, those alliances are temporarily and potentially
unstable, rather tactical)
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Social structure in which actors are embedded ( actors are embedded in systems of shared
beliefs, socially constructed norms and rules, norms guide behavior, new norms emerge,
anarchy is what a state makes of it)
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)
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Intl’ organizations as both arenas and actors (see above)
Exercise: Mearsheimer (1995) A Realist Reply:
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Critized by institutionalism à the view is a misguided anarchy in international system, that is
the reason why war does not stop
The ‘false promise’ of international institutions/ organizations is according to Mearsheimer
the questions whether intl’ organizations can prevent war by changing state behavior
because Mearsheimer herself thinks that is not the case à conflict which may end up in war
has an independent effect because many institutions do not make a difference, war is still
existent
The case of NATO demonstrates, from Mearsheimer’s point of view, that states form
alliances to determine possible enemies à no enforcement power basic form of
coordination states
In terms of establishment and maintenance (the future) of NATO it is safe to assume from a
Realist’s point of view that power differentiates
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Issues like that are
unimportant and realist point it’s all about security, military security, primary field of action
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What is Mearhsimer’s solution to the war/peace-problem? A never perfect yet temporarily
workable strategy might be in order to safeguard your security become a member at surt at
alliances you can achieve with an alliance boarding your power base, you do not have
enough power so through an alliance you power will increase
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About how many people work for the UN secretariat (field and non-field) ? à 40
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Why have mainstream IR theories (realism, institutionalism, constructivism) mostly neglected
what is going on inside international organizations? à because these theories largely follow
a state-centric model of intl’ cooperation
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A huge administrative apparatus exists,
with lots of people pursuing careers and 2
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g
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Organizational insulation, 2
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Cultural contestation(Auseinandersetzung)
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e
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e
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5th session: The UN in 20th century:
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Entails norms of non-aggression and peaceful dispute settlement, entails
procedures for collective enforcement (by military and non-military means) in case of a
breach of these rules, a CSS is about establishing binding rules within and enforcing them
if necessary (in contrast to a collective defense system)
è Establishment of peace in case of war, general agreement of the ban between members,
attempts to contain a threat inside in the system, provisions in case of breach of rules
è Seek solution by negotiation, enquiry, etc or other peaceful means of their own,
SecCouncil determines a threat to or breach of peaceà Art: 41: non-military measures,
Art 42 military measures to restore peace if non-military means deemed inappropiate
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Why is peacekeeping referred to as Chapter 6
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5 because peacekeeping is not described as a topic in the Charter, it is in
between peaceful settlement and violent and nonviolent measurement
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- General Assembly – debate arena, 193 members, one country-one vote, regional caucuses,
can consider any matter (GA and committee sessions), recommendations (GA resolutions =

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‘soft law’), procedural powers (admission, electing non-permanent SC members, appointing
SG-UN [Secretary Genera- UN])
Security Council - decision making body (maintenance peace/security), P-5 with veto power,
10 non-permanent members (2years, 5 replaced each year), acts in response to specific
crises and conflicts, states also SG-UN can bring a matter to the council’s attention, binding
SC resolutions, since 1990’s: war crimes tribunals(strafgericht)
Secretary General – chief administrative office also a global diplomat, management of UN
secretariat, preparing the budget, intermediary between member states, presenting to SC
issues that threaten international peace, (historically) tied to UN peacekeeping missions
(management), initiatives/bully pulpit
Four generations of peacekeeping: 1
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(Multidimensional, since 1980’s about the demilitarization), 3
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(complex multidimensional peace-building since
Kosovo 1999, taking of substantial political and administrative responsibility an state
building)
The UN has no armed force permanently at their disposal, UNC Art
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Exercise: Peace through the United Nations? The Case of Rwanda
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The Rwandan Genocide was a genocidal mass slaughter of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in
Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority
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The genocide was planned by members of the core political elite known as the
akazu, many of whom occupied positions at top levels of the national government
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The breach of the peace agreement led the RPF to restart their offensive
and rapidly seize control of the northern part of the country before capturing Kigali in midJuly, bringing an end to the genocide
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Clinton’s apology because as the terror in Rwanda has unfolded, Clinton had shown virtually
no interest in stopping the genocide, and his administration had stood by the death toll rose
into the hundreds of thousands: ‘’we did not do as much as we could have done and should
have done’’; ‘’in reality the US did much more than fail to send troops, … remove most of the
UN peacekeepers,
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work it out, meant walk out, temporarily reinforced the troop presence,

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the pentagon leadership conducted that peacekeeping in Africa meant trouble, … the
restrictive checklist tried to satisfy the American desire for zero degree of involvement, and
zero degree of risk and zero degree of pain and confusion…’’
Lieutant-general Canadian Army, Force Commander of UNAMIR troops in Rwanda, Roméo
Dallaire: him and his troops wanted to do something but the security council consisted partly
of Hutu who did not plan on agreeing on the peacekeeping; the main failure (according to
him) was by Kofi Annan (the 7th Secretary General of the UN) because he didn’t let them step
in and to protect the people
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e communication through radio,
patrol the streets, disarm the Rwanda troops)
Kofi Annan: his opinion is that he was not in the power and if he would have been, he would
have thought twice about it due to the fact what happened after the US operation in
Somalia
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He said he
wanted to secure the safety of the troops and could not have changed a mandate at this
stage
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Why is there a need to reform the Security Council of the UN?
è Because of its composition (geopolitical realities of the 21st century vs
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Latin America, Africa, Asia; main contributors vs
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efficiency, and
the conditions of permanent or non-permanent members)
è Because of the veto power (either no veto power for new P’s, only restricted veto power,
normal veto power or the complete elimination of veto)
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legitimacy/representation, structure, the politicized processes (as retain influence and
privileges, cost efficiencies), new security threats and challenges i
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sovereignity,
structural changes would require the UNC Art
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ratification, approval of all P-5)
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è Reform proposals seek to advance funding schemes such as global taxes on arms sales,
air travel, petroleum trade, etc
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This prominent role has caused the
reason for Germany being a natural candidate for a permanent Security Council seat
Germany also is the 3rd largest contributor to UN funds but also does an immense amount to
further the UN’s fundamental goals, i
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providing troops for international peace missions,
funding international development cooperation, sustainable development and humanitarian
relief work and promoting human rights protection in all parts of the world
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7th session: NATO an alliance in search of its mission
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5: each MS will assist other MS when attacked, no automatism as regards a
specifically required response (e
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military support)
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Why has NATO survived the end of the Cold War?
è Because of changing strategies like massive retaliation (until mid-1960’s), flexible
response (mid-1960’s until end of Cold War), nuclear option as last resort (since 1990’s)
and deterrence and risk management as a current strategy
è After the cold war the NATO lost its major function as an alliance (which was to maintain
and length Americas grip on the foreign and military policies of European states) but the
survival and expansion of NATO tells us much about American power and influence (it
shows how international institutions are created and maintained by stronger states to
serve their perceived or misperceived interests)
è NATO’s participation criteria were, that is got more inclusive, the collective security and
security management expanded and that threats were formed into risks
è The new purpose of the NATO formed to be the collective defense against what/which
likely aggressor, from U
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perspective unilateral actions and further enlargement to
Balkans, Russian periphery, beyond Europe)
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Daalder/Goldgeier state that NATO has gone global after the end of the Cold War
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In recent years
it has played peacekeeper in Afghanistan, trained security forces in Iraq, and gven logistical
support to the African Union’s mission in Darfur
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Such forward defense often requires a global military reach: helicopters to deliver supplies to
disaster zones and evacuate the injured; command, control, and reconnaissance capabilities
to sustain peacekeeping missions; and experienced military officers to train local security
forces
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What do they have in mind, why do
they see a need for this? - NATO will consider a proposal to redefine the alliance's role by
deepening relations with countries beyond the transatlantic community, starting with
partners such as Australia, Japan, and New Zealand
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NATO's next move must be to open its membership to any democratic
state in the world that is willing and able to contribute to the fulfillment of NATO's new
responsibilities
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The alliance
is and remains primarily concentrated on the collective security of the North Atlantic
partners
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However, it does not mean that states around the globe can become
members… What do you think explains this reasoning and the European reluctance to
embrace even more global NATO? –
8th session – OSCE Conflict Prevention throughout Europe
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How is ‘common security’ different from ‘collective security’?
è Common security is not primarily cast in legal terms, so a set of idea and strategies of
fostering peace, it deals with conflicts like how to organize security between states and
their societies
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How do ‘field missions’ and ‘election monitoring’ by the OSCE contribute to security?
è The focus for the OSCE is on the issues of conflict prevention, democratization, human
rights protection and civil society support and field missions include monitoring, keeping
transparency and impartial reports and election monitoring and early warning systems in
the sense of human rights violations or tensions
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U
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The OSCE is special in confidence and security through dialogue, epistemic input like
transparency, knowledge, expertise and norms, unique in including and focusing on national
minorities like HCNM and field presence
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It currently consist of 250 international observers
from more than 40 OSCE participating states, it can be expanded up to 500
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The monitors gather
information and report on the security situation, establish facts in response to incidents,
establish contacts and facilitate dialogue on the ground to promote normalization of the
situation
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OSCE Observer Mission at the Russian Checkpoints: on 24th July 2014 the OSCE states
decided to send observer to the Russian checkpoints of Gukovo and Donetsk
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The observer
Mission is composed of one Chief observer, 15 observers working on 24/7 basis in teams and
three administrative staff
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It will report on a weekly basis
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Media Monitoring Ukraine, RepFOM: The representative on freedom of the media Dunja
Mijatovic´ travelled to Ukraine in spring
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She brought attention to grave violations of media freedom, in particular regarding
journalists’ safety and restrictions to media plurality
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The mission members met with
representatives from national government and local authorities, political parties and
international organizations and from civil society and minority communities
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Two kinds of observer were deployed
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100 long-term observers are were expected to arrive and will

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deployed in the teams of two to assess the entire election process in terms of compliance
with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, as well
as national legislation
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900 short-term observers from OSCE participating states for
Election Day
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Language and identity have been battleground since the onset of the crisis
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What is the welfare dilemma, and how does it explain the emergence of international trade
institutions?
à The welfare dilemma states that when each state is free in deciding on its trade policies
(means that no central authority in international economic relations which could intervene)
it may raise tariffs, impose restrictions etc
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Why is international trade policy a highly politicized issue?
è Mutual benefit from trade even if one country is more competitive on every area than its
trading counterpart, specialization (a nation should focus on industries/sectors where it
enjoys a comparative advantage); specialization and free trade combined are mutually
beneficial
è But, distribution of gains (which sector wins or loses/ how is ‘net gain’ distributed), gains
are rather medium-term than short-term, sometimes even costs for adjustments incur,
economic crisis ( =impulse to ‘protect’ one’s own economy e
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Buy American-clauses
enacted by U
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recently), and specialization could also mean dependence
è Therefore, any trade negotiation takes place against the background of competing
domestic interest coalitions and concerns for domestic stability, and with an eye to
election cycles in democracies in particular
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What are the most favored nation-principle and reciprocity under GATT?
è General Agreement on Tarrifs and Trade (GATT) is a series of treaties which laid down
general rules and specific provisions (= regimes, norms relating to and rules on lowering
tariffs, prohibitions of quotas and umping, permissibility of subsidies, uniform web of
trade rules: simplification through harmonization
è The most favored nation principle implies that non-discrimination as regards trading
partners and imported/ nationally produced goods: any advantage granted to a
contracting party, should be granted to all others
è Reciprocity implies that one country agrees to reduce its level of production in return for
a reciprocal concession from its trading partners
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Even though the state is still important, IOs
fulfill the key functions and trade is necessary tool
Realism: shallow or on the terms of a great power need trade to expand their own power and
therefore see the gridlock as critical
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Constructivism: needs trade negotiations to create further norms for the constructed state
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Why was/is ‘monetary policy’ and ‘finance’ important for a liberal international economy?
è ‘monetary policy’ and ‘finance’ is important for liberal international economy
è For stable economic exchange, one needs a level of stability/coordinating mechanism for
currency exchange rates and short-term assistance in liquidity (in case of immediate
balance of payments problems, not general budget deficits)
è Limited access to private financial markets and balance-of-payment problems = danger
of measures with adverse effects on liberal intl economy
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Votes are weighted according to a
country’s share of contributions
è Tremendous organizational advantage (extensive diplomatic corps, location, reserve
currency) briefings on all decisions, opportunities to contact staff, knowledge edge (IMF
staff = economists trained in US-dominated MBA programs)
What were and, to some degree still are the main functions of the IMF since the mid-1970s?
è Oversee the fixed exchange rate arrangements (currencies tied to USD, but adaptable
exchange rate, 1% +/- USD backed by/exchangeable into gold (35USD per oz
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è substantial authority delegated to management ( lending decisions as routine decisions)
è Expert authority, specialized knowledge à driving the IMF’s policy ideas
è Quantification = creating the appearance of disinterested analysis by neutral experts
è Norm = voting avoided, consensus
è Strong role of chair of the meetings of the executive board = managing director agenda
Before the global financial crisis starting in 2007/8, it seemed that the IMF drifted into
irrelevance, why?
è Because of the suspension of gold-dollar convertibility (fixed exchange rate system) due
to domestic reasons, therefore one central aspect of the IMF’s work ceased to exist
(monitoring exchange rates)
è IMF lending had declined in recent years
è Between 1952 and 2012 the IMF arranged 1180 lons fir MS, almost 4/5 of the MS have
accessed IMF credit, yet, before the global financial crisis it seemed that states were
either able to use private markets, other sources of refinancing or unwilling to go to the
IMF
è There was much talk about which function it still has (à venue for multilateral dialogue,
surveillance of economic policies of indebted countries in particular, surveillance of
global financial markets, risk assessment)?
Nowadays, the IMF seems to have made a comeback, in what sense?
è With the onset of the global financial crisis, the economic crises and the crisis in the
Eurozone, the IMF seems to have gained new importance: 2010: decision to double
quotas to 750bio USD, 2010: enhanced possibilities for IMF to borrow from MS, part of

the Troika Eurozone crisis (EuComm,ECB,IMF), co-financer and only troika member that
can insist on conditionally despite being just the ‘junior partner’
è Lender of last resort after a period in which states had increasingly turned to private
capital markets



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