International Organizations: An Overview

Introduction to International Organizations

• IOs originate from sovereign states' commitments to each other, creating a paradox
• As actors, IOs possess legal independence and the capacity to shape world politics
• They serve as forums where states and other actors address shared interests and concerns
• IOs can be used by states as resources to pursue domestic and international goals

Ontology of IOs

• IOs can act independently
• They can be instruments of other actors
• They serve as meeting places for states
• States create and participate in IOs

State Sovereignty and IOs

• State sovereignty: not subject to higher political or legal authority
• Responsible sovereignty: requires cross-border cooperation to protect their people.
• IOs are legally subordinate to states due to consent
• States can opt out of IO rules by withdrawing or not joining.

Approaches to IOs

• Enchanted approach assumes compliance leads to good outcomes
• Disenchanted approach views political effects as dependent on the user and their goals

Influential Actors to Development

• Truman Address: Supported international organizations in establishing a liberal international economic order, led by the U.S.
• Doctrine of Development: Foreign aid emerged as a development approach for underdeveloped countries, catalyzing the IMF and World Bank

Amartya Sen on Development

• Development expands real freedoms, linking political and economic liberties
• Sen states that the economic power and freedom to buy food is most important

Wangari Maathai's View of Sustainable Development

• Maathai advocated achieving a quality of life that is sustainable and ensures long-term well-being
• Three pillars of sustainable development: include democratic space, accountable management of natural resources, and cultures of peace
• Development requires dignity and freedom from starvation and homelessness

Dani Rodrik on Global Regulatory Coordination

• Advocates for coordination without undermining national policy autonomy
• A system of diverse nations and simple, transparent rules is preferred over a single superpower

Realism in Development

• States seek power for security, viewing it materially, like military force
• Central actors in international relations strive to protect themselves through power
• IOs should not interfere with great powers' military pursuits
• Powerful states use IOs to advance their interests
• IOs are often ineffective in preventing conflicts

Liberalism in Development

• Governments make the best policy choices based on available information
• IOs facilitate voluntary agreements for mutual benefit
• IOs create rules and norms for peaceful interactions
• They promote free trade and economic integration, reducing the likelihood of war
• IOs mitigate international anarchy through diplomacy and resolution

Limitations of Liberalism

• Agency of IOs is downplayed, focusing on state interests
• Power imbalances among states are not fully accounted for
• How IOs change states' beliefs or reshape relations isn't addressed

Actors of Liberalism

• Adam Smith advocated for limited government intervention with humans' empathy driving cooperation
• Invisible Hand Theory: self-regulation of free markets

Liberal Institutionalism: Immanuel Kant

• The world is viewed as a unified entity
• IOs and cooperation will create a more peaceful and stable world
• IOs help states cooperate by reducing uncertainty and promoting shared interests

Subsets of Liberalism

• Interest Group Liberalism focuses on domestic actors within states
• States are divided into substate actors (industrial groups, politicians)
• Focus on how these actors form state's stance on international issues
• Regime Theory focuses on international rules and norms governing issues across countries
• Examines formal treaties and organizations, also informal rules, practices, and non-state actors
• Neoliberalism: policies aim to create more efficient economies by encouraging private sector involvement

Jeffrey Sachs: Economic Reforms Theorist

• Focused on customized economic reforms based on country's needs
• Believed the poorest were trapped in poverty should
• Emphasize market forces, state intervention, foreign aid, and social programs

Constructivism

• Politics shaped by evolving ideas, identities, and social contact
• IOs help shape state identities and interests through shared values and norms
• IOs develop their influence and authority, not just powerful states

Alexander Wendt: The Ally and Enemy

• There are two views on other countries, there are different ideas

Developmentalist Approach

• Centralized state intervention in development strategies, especially through foreign aid
• Pearson Report stressed liberal priorities of expanding trade and investment
• Increase in foreign aid tied to targeted goals in developing counties economic growth

Arthur Lewis: The Theory of Dualism

• Traditional economics often combine two different sectors: agriculture and industrialization
• Lewis theorized that these two sectors coexist but operate under very different economic dynamics, which means that the goal is to achieve sustainable equilibrium between the two

Marxist Perspective on IOs

• IOs perpetuate global inequality, serving wealthy elites
• They act as instruments of a transnational capitalist class

Marxist Scholars

• Karl Marx
• Understand and transform society by addressing economic inequality and exploitation
• Humans as products and producers of history
• Immanuel Wallerstein viewed the global system as a tier system
• Antonio Gramsci: the ruling class maintains control through ideological and cultural means
• Hegemonic Stability suggests that the international system is more likely to be stable when there is a single dominant power

Maoism

• Adaptation of Marxist-Leninist principles to China's socio-economic conditions
• Mao Zedong adapted Marxist-Leninist principles for China
• Introduced continuous revolution to prevent new elites

Argentinean Economics

• 1860s-1920s: Argentina was a major global economic player, exporting beef and wheat
• 1930s Onward: The global market became more competitive
• Prebisch observations: Economic dependency
• Inspired by Marxist ideas and began to analyze the structural inequalities
• Argued that developing countries were being exploited by industrialized nations

Introduction of ISI

• Break free from dependency and began to develop local markets
• Lead to accumulated debt due to inefficient industries and lack of foreign trade revenue
• Creation of Dependency Theory: Explained how the dependency theory kept developing countries dependent and unequal

Debt-led Growth and the Oil Crisis

• 1970s Oil Crisis: OPEC's 1973 oil embargo caused soaring prices, economic turmoil, and debt
• Developed ISI policies in Latin America, fueled instability and authoritarian regimes
• OPEC founded in 1960, and embargoed the Yom Kippur War which showcased it's geopolitical power

NAFTA, Paris Agreement, and USMCA

• NAFTA (1992): Signed trade deal prioritizing energy and sustainable development, leading to environmental agreements
• Paris Agreement (2015): UN treaty to combat climate change through voluntary emissions cuts that got withdrawn over economic and sovereignty concerns
• USMCA (2018): Replaced NAFTA, removing the energy chapter to recognize Mexico's sovereignty over its resources

Classical Liberalism

• Emphasis on reducing state intervention in the economy to promote efficiency and competition

Classical Liberalism: Key Features

• Privatization: Transferring public services and industries to private ownership
• Deregulation: Reducing government rules and restrictions on businesses
• Trade liberalization: Free trade by reducing tariffs and other barriers

Views of IOs among Classical Liberals

• Wary of IOs because they prefer minimal government intervention
• Fear that IOs may impose excessive regulation and interfere with free markets
• Von Hayek believed economies are inherently unpredictable and that central planning hinders natural economic processes, leading to inefficiency ans crises

Post Development Theory

• Challenges assumptions of development as a linear process
• View IOs as western dominance instruments imposing a unform development model
• IOs promote western ideals of progress, economic growth and democracy, often disregarding local contexts, knowledge, and indigenous practices
• Arturo Escobar argued that Western development practices often imposed a singular, Eurocentric model of development, marginalizing indigenous knowledge systems and ways of life

Limitations of International Organizations

• European Expansionism and Imperialism (1415-1776) involved expansion of trade networks, trading established outposts, and military dominance over indigenous populations
• Production accelerated the economic performance of the colonies and benefited wealth from wealth of European settlers

Colonialism (1776-1945)

• Represented formal establishment of European colonies with the exploitation of resources, land and labor in Africa, Asia and the Americas
• European powers enforced legal, economic and social structure that benefits the colonizers and subjugated indigenous populations
• Neocolonialism included indirect control of western powers continuing to exert influence
• International financial institutions introduced and continued to maintain unequal power dynamics
• Post Colonial Theory and Heemonic Colonial stated that colonial rule believe in manufactured colonial expansion.
• Bureaucratic Colonial State encouraged the creation of loyal elites with disproportionate power over important decisions