PSC 2442 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Pan American Health Organization, North American Free Trade Agreement, World Trade Organization
2 views2 pages
August 28th, 2017: Introduction
● What is an International Organization?
○ Definition: Representatives from three or more states that are bound by formal
sales and decision making procedures directed to a common purpose.
Sometimes called a “regime”
○ Examples: NPI, NAFTA
● International Organizations Definition: representatives from three or more states
supporting a permanent secretariat to perform ongoing tasks related to a common
purpose (bureaucracy)
○ Three types: IGOs which are government based, and INGOs which are non-
governmental
■ Transnational organizations: there is a hierarchical structure and are
centrally directed, non-governmental bureaucracies that function in more
than one state
● Mapping IO Universe
○ One method is to map by membership x purpose. How many members they will
accept and how broad or specific their purpose is
○
Specific
General
Limited
PAHO
African Union
NATO
EU
Unlimited
WHO
UN
WTO
(broad
purpose/members)
○ You can also map by degree of organizational integration from informal to a
world government
● Tools of IO influence
○ Expertise: source of expertise in their area
○ Independent resources: like world bank that can finance its own projects through
its investments
○ Organization: structure allows for influence
○ Moral Authority: notion of support from international authority
● Tensions with Sovereignty?
○ Sovereignty: right and capacity of states to exercise control within their borders
■ Rules of organization may force countries to do something they do not
want to do
● Why join an IO?
○ They can help solve problems that you can’t individually
○ Interdependence: creates IOs because of shared problems that can’t be fixed by
independent actors
○ There is a trade-off between full sovereignty and solving problems