International Organizations Case Study

1938 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Roles of international organizations

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: THE UNITED NATIONS

The study of International Organizations falls in the realm of International Relations theory. As a relatively new field, International Relations (IR) theory is difficult to define. It is often taught as a theory that seeks both to explain past state behavior and to predict future state behavior. To my understanding, International Relations attempts to explain the interactions of states in the global interstate system, and it also attempts to explain the interactions of others whose behavior originates within one country and is targeted toward members of other countries. In short, the study of International Relations is an attempt to explain behavior that occurs across the boundaries of states, …show more content…

An International Organization can be defined, following the International Law Commission, as an “organization established by a treaty or other instrument governed by international law and possessing its own international legal personality”. International organizations generally have States as members, but often other entities can also apply for membership. They both make international law and are governed by it. Yet, the decision-making process of international organizations is often “less a question of law than one of political judgment” . International Organizations may serve various purposes; they could be economically, commercially or politically oriented. However, since I am looking at the realm of International Relations, I am going to focus on politically oriented International Organizations. In the following sections, I have detailed the structure, function and the concept of legitimacy of one of the largest and most successful International Organizations, the United …show more content…

Legitimacy in International Relations theory is the “popular acceptance of an authority, usually a governing body or regime.” However, Ian Hurd defines legitimacy to me “an actor’s normative belief that a rule or institution ought to be obeyed.” And I believe this very factor to be the failure of the League of Nations and the success of the United Nations. From acting as the intermediary between the two power blocs at the time of the Cold War to fighting AIDS, the UN has proved to be a formidable

Show More
Related

  • Canada, A Rising Middle Power

    1642 Words  | 4 Pages

    International organizations such as NATO and the UN are essential not only for global peace, but also as a place where middle powers can exert their influence. It is understandable that since the inception of such organizations that many crises have been averted, resolved, or dealt with in some way thro...

    Read More

  • Cuban Missile Crisis Analysis

    1445 Words  | 3 Pages

    The chosen level of analysis and international relation theory to explain this event are the individual levels of analysis and realism. This level of analysis focuses on the individuals that make decisions, the impact of human nature, the behavior of individuals acting in an organization, and how personality and individual experiences impact foreign policy decisions.... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • United Nations And The League Of Nations

    1482 Words  | 3 Pages

    After the conclusion of the Second World War, the United Nations (UN) replaced the ineffective League of Nations and its job was to protect humans rights and prevent future wars like World War 2. The “Big Three” — who were US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British prime minister Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union— held a meeting in the soviet city of Yalta to discuss terms for the up coming peace treaty, which included talks about a “world organization.” “This organization— which Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin said was essential ‘to prevent aggression and to remove political, economic, and social causes of war through close and continuing collaboration of all peace-loving peoples’ — was to be called the United Nations (Patterson 7).” The United Nations is one of the first steps towards the idea of globalization. That the entire world is beginning to connect on social, political, and economic levels and now with the United Nations this process directly connects with the governments involved in the UN to help countries in social, economic, and/or political turmoil.

    Read More

  • Structural Realism and Non-State Actors

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    While some may argue that a state-centric international system is apt for non-state actors, since to attain a foreseeable future, they need to comprehend the state system and how to operate within it. This structure is weakening as non-state actors are increasing their influence in conflicts and challenging the international order founded upon the power of states. The openness of commercial markets and the weakening territorial sovereignty has limited the state’s monopoly of power asserted by structural realists. In Structural Realism After the Cold War, Kenneth Waltz alleges that, “If the conditions that a theory contemplated have changed, the theory no longer applies.” Theories and traditions in international relations must become more comprehensive if society intends to tackle the conflicts of the 21st century more effectively in the future.

    Read More

  • Understanding International Relations Through Level of Analysis

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    The level of analysis discloses three different ways of understanding international relations. System-level analysis considers a "top-down" approach to studying world politics (Rourke, 2007, p. 91). It emphasises that international actors, countries, operate in a global social-political-economic-geographic environment and the explicit characteristics of the system outlines the mode of interaction among the actors. The State-level analysis stresses the national states and their domestic practices such as national interests, interest groups, government, and domestic economy as the key determinants of the state of world affairs (Mingst, 2008). The individual-level analysis examines human actors on the global stage.

    Read More

  • United Nations Security Council Reform

    5425 Words  | 11 Pages

    Fifty-eight years after the signing of the Charter, the world has changed dramatically. Its universal character and comprehensiveness make the United Nations a unique and indispensable forum for governments to work together to address global issues. At the same time, there remains a large gap between aspiration and real accomplishment. There have been many successes and many failures. The United Nations is a bureaucracy that struggles – understandably – in its attempt to bring together 191 countries. It must come at no surprise, therefore, that a consensus cannot always be reached with so many different competing voices.

    Read More

  • United Nations

    747 Words  | 2 Pages

    5.     The UN can be so ineffective because they do not have the power they would like to have. The United Nations have no power under the current charter to simply waltz into a countries disputes with out any permission being granted. Both countries must invite the UN in, but the Security Council must also agree with this as well. The countries involved in the Security Council must also provide the necessary manpower quickly. This takes time and hinders the UN’s power.

    Read More

  • Realism and Constructivism

    1481 Words  | 3 Pages

    The creation of the study of international relations in the early 20th century has allowed multiple political theories to be compared, contrasted, debated, and argued against one another for the past century. These theories were created based on certain understandings of human principles or social nature and project these concepts onto the international system. They examine the international political structure and thrive to predict or explain how states will react under certain situations, pressures, and threats. Two of the most popular theories are known as constructivism and realism. When compared, these theories are different in many ways and argue on a range of topics. The topics include the role of the individual and the use of empirical data or science to explain rationally. They also have different ideological approaches to political structure, political groups, and the idea that international relations are in an environment of anarchy.

    Read More

  • Political Realism

    2261 Words  | 5 Pages

    People’s ideas and assumptions about world politics shape and construct the theories that help explain world conflicts and events. These assumptions can be classified into various known theoretical perspectives; the most dominant is political realism. Political realism is the most common theoretical approach when it is in means of foreign policy and international issues. It is known as “realpolitik” and emphasis that the most important actor in global politics is the state, which pursues self-interests, security, and growing power (Ray and Kaarbo 3). Realists generally suggest that interstate cooperation is severely limited by each state’s need to guarantee its own security in a global condition of anarchy. Political realist view international politics as a struggle for power dominated by organized violence, “All history shows that nations active in international politics are continuously preparing for, actively involved in, or recovering from organized violence in the form of war” (Kegley 94). The downside of the political realist perspective is that their emphasis on power and self-interest is their skepticism regarding the relevance of ethical norms to relations among states.

    Read More

  • International System Essay

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ment and well-being. It is clear that without the ongoing presence and work of international organisations, the international system would be in a far worse and more chaotic state, with a far greater chance for a civil war to breakout. They also are a major player in helping develop states political and economical systems.

    Read More

  • League Of Nations Essay

    1453 Words  | 3 Pages

    The League of Nations was an Intergovernmental Organisation which persisted from 1919 up until 1946 where it was formally replaced with the United Nations towards the end of the Second World War. Many consider the League as one of the International Systems greatest failures due to it being widely regarded as an ‘ineffective instrument to tackle aggressors’ (Catterall, 1999, p. 52) and its inherent failure to prevent international conflict. However,

    Read More

  • International Relations Essay

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    The study of international relations takes a wide range of theoretical approaches. Some emerge from within the discipline itself others have been imported, in whole or in part, from disciplines such as economics or sociology. Indeed, few social scientific theories have not been applied to the study of relations amongst nations. Many theories of international relations are internally and externally contested, and few scholars believe only in one or another. In spite of this diversity, several major schools of thought are discernable, differentiated principally by the variables they emphasize on military power, material interests, or ideological beliefs. International Relations thinking have evolved in stages that are marked by specific debates between groups of scholars. The first major debate is between utopian liberalism and realism, the second debate is on method, between traditional approaches and behavioralism. The third debate is between neorealism/neoliberalism and neo-Marxism, and an emerging fourth debate is between established traditions and post-positivist alternatives (Jackson, 2007).

    Read More

  • Cognitivism: A Complementary Approach to Regime Analysis

    1333 Words  | 3 Pages

    Need for international regimes depend on states’ perception of international problem, which results from their causal and normative beliefs. Interests are not given and need to be analyzed as a function of decision-makers perception of the world; decision-makers should reduce uncertainty via information; actors before developing shared rules at least should have an agreement on issue in question, “otherwise, convergent expectations among independent actors in an international issue-area would be impossible, and cooperation would be doomed to

    Read More

  • Commission on Global Governance

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the Commission on Global Governance (1995), global governance refers to “the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, manage their common affairs. It is the continuing process through which conflict or diverse interests may be accommodated and cooperative action may be taken”. Some main actors involved in the process of global governance include states, international organizations (IOs), regional organizations (ROs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Global governance implements in various issue areas including security, economic deelopment, environmental protection and so on. Different states and organizations have different or even conflicting interests. Yet as globalisation continues and the world becomes more inter-connected than ever before, global governance or cooperation among different actors is increasingly taking a more significant role in the international stage. Some critics view global governance quite negatively as they believe that the current system lacks efficiency and effectiveness. In this paper, however, I shall argue that global governance is carried out more effectively in maintenance of world security and promotion of economic development while less effectively in environmental protection and preservation. Thus, despite limitations of the existing mechanism, global governance is still largely a postive development in world affairs.

    Read More

  • World Politics: American Hegemony

    2936 Words  | 6 Pages

    Whenever world politics is mentioned, the state that appears to be at the apex of affairs is the United States of America, although some will argue that it isn’t. It is paramount we know that the international system is shaped by certain defining events that has lead to some significant changes, particularly those connected with different chapters of violence. Certainly, the world wars of the twentieth century and the more recent war on terror must be included as defining moments. The warning of brute force on a potentially large scale also highlights the vigorousness of the cold war period, which dominated world politics within an interval of four decades. The practice of international relations (IR) was introduced out of a need to discuss the causes of war and the different conditions for calm in the wake of the first world war, and it is relevant we know that this has remained a crucial focus ever since. However, violence is not the only factor capable of causing interruption in the international system. Economic elements also have a remarkable impact. The great depression that happened in the 1920s, and the global financial crises of the contemporary period can be used as examples. Another concurrent problem concerns the environment, with the human climate being one among different number of important concerns for the continuing future of humankind and the planet in general.

    Read More

More about International Organizations Case Study

Open Document