International Organizations: Sovereignty and Cooperation

• International Organizations (IOs) exist due to sovereign states' commitments to each other.
• IOs are legally independent entities capable of influencing global politics.
• IOs serve as meeting places for states and actors to discuss shared interests and concerns.
• IOs can be utilized by states to pursue domestic and international objectives.
• IOs can act independently, be tools for other actors, or serve as places states use and visit.
• The state is both a creator and a participant in IOs.
• State Sovereignty indicates that the state is not subject to any higher political or legal authority.
• Responsible Sovereignty means states must protect their people and cooperate across borders.
• Legally, IOs are subordinate to states.
• States can opt out of IO rules by not joining or withdrawing from the organization.
• The Enchanted Approach states that compliance with IO rules naturally leads to positive outcomes.
• The Disenchanted Approach suggests that political effects depend on who uses them and for what purposes.

Influential Actors to Development

• The Truman Address advocated international organizations' involvement in creating a liberal economic order under U.S. leadership.
• The Doctrine of Development introduced foreign aid as a new way to assist underdeveloped countries, leading to the creation of the IMF and World Bank.
• Amartya Sen explored the relationship between political/economic freedoms and development, arguing that it should expand real freedoms.
• For Sen, the focus should be on the economic power and substantive freedom of individuals and families being able to buy food.
• Wangari Maathai viewed sustainable development as achieving a sustainable quality of life over short-term gains.
• Wangari Maathai suggested that the three pillars of development are: democratic space, sustainable management of natural resources, and cultures of peace.
• According to Wangari, "Development" entails having enough to live with dignity and without fear.
• Dani Rodrik advocated for global regulatory coordination without undermining national policy autonomy.
• According to Rodrik, there should be a collection of diverse nations whose interactions are regulated by traffic rules.

Theories and Approaches to Development

• Realism suggests that states seek power to protect themselves due to their intrinsic insecurity.
• Realists view power as material, such as military forces.
  • Realism assumes that states are central actors seeking power due to insecurity.
• Realist view of IOs promotes the view that IOs should not be allowed to interfere with the military pursuit of great powers.
  • IOs are tools used by powerful states to advance their national interests.
  • IOs are often seen as ineffective, as states will act in their own interests regardless of institutional rules.
• Liberalism assumes governments make the best policy choices based on available information and resources.
• Liberalist view of IOs promotes the view that IOs are voluntary agreements used to promote international peace.
  • IOs as vehicles for agreements that encourage predictable and peaceful interactions among nations.
  • Promote free trade and economic integration, lessening the likelihood of war.
  • IOs mitigate the effects of international anarchy by offering platforms for diplomacy and dispute resolution.
• Liberalism tends to downplay the agency of IOs, focusing more on the interests of states.
  • Does not fully account for power imbalances among/or how IOs might change states' beliefs.

Actors of Liberalism

• Adam Smith advocated for limited government intervention in the economy.
  • He believed humans have empathy that drives cooperation for mutual benefit.
  • Invisible Hand Theory describes the self-regulating nature of free markets.
• Liberal Institutionalism (Immanuel Kant) sees the world as a unified entity.
  • Kant argues IOs and cooperation create a more peaceful and stable world.
• Liberal Institutionalist do believe IOs help states cooperate
  • This is done by reducing uncertainty, enforcing agreements, and promoting shared interests.

Subsets of Liberalism

• Interest Group Liberalism focuses on domestic actors within states.
  • States are disaggregated/broken down into substate actors (industrial groups, politicians)
  • There is great focus on how these actors interact to form the state's stance on international issues.
• Regime Theory examines the international rules and norms that govern issues across countries.
  • It examines formal treaties and organizations, as well as informal rules, practices, and non-state actors.
• Neoliberalism policies aim to create more efficient economies by encouraging private sector involvement.
• Jeffrey Sachs focused on customizing economic reforms based on country's needs opposed to uniform neoliberal prescriptions.
  • Sachs believed that the poorest societies were stuck in a poverty trap.
  • In order to fix Sachs was an advocate for a mix of: market forces, state intervention, foreign aid and social programs.

Constructivism

• Constructivism frames politics as shaped by evolving ideas, identities, and social interactions.
• According to Constructivist, IOs shape state identities and interests by promoting shared values and norms.
• Constructivist view of IOs promotes the view that they can develop their own influence and authority.
• IOs and states influence each other
  • States create IOs, and IOs reshape how states understand their interests.
• Development strategies can be implemented through foreign aid if the intervention is centralized
• The Pearson Report promoted: expanding international trade and investment.
  • It tied increases in foreign aid to targeted increases in developing counties' economic growth.
• Arthur Lewis' The Theory of Dualism explores how traditional economies exhibit dualism.
  • This due to division of 2 sectors: agriculture and industrialization.
  • Goal was to achieve sustainable equilibrium between the 2.

Marxism

• Marxism emphasizes the unequal distribution of power and wealth concentrated in the hands of a few.
• Marxist view of IOs promote the view that they perpetuate global inequality while serving the interests of wealthy elites.
• Marxists argue that IOs are instruments of a transnational capitalist class that seeks to consolidate wealth and power.
• Karl Marx pursued understanding and transforming society.
  • Saw humans as products and producers of history.
• Immanuel Wallerstein's World Systems Theory views the global system as a tiered structure.
• Antonio Gramsci argued that the ruling class maintains power through cultural means, shaping society's values, beliefs and norms.
• Hegemonic Stability suggests the international system is more likely to be stable if there is a dominant power.
  • This dominant power provides leadership and enforces the rules of the system.
• Maoism involves adapting Marxist-Leninist principles to specific China socio-economic conditions.
  • The peasantry was emphasized rather than the urban working class as the main revolutionary force.
  • The idea of continuous revolution was introduced to prevent the rise of new elites.
    • This focused on the the need for ideological transformation.

Argentinean Economics

• In 1860s-1920s, Argentina became an important global economic player because it was exporting beef and what to Europe.
  • This brought significant wealth.
• Starting in the 1930s, the global market became more competitive, and an era of decline began in Argentina's economy.
• Raul Prebisch analyzed the global economy.
  • His observations suggested that there were structural inequalities.
  • He argued that developing countries had a disadvantage in the global economy.
    • This was because Industrialized nations are taking their raw materials and producing manufactured good, leaving developing territories dependent.
• Introduction of ISI: Countries began to develop local industries that were designed to reduce reliance on international trade and raw material exports.
  • Was the main strategy from the 30s to 70s but accrued debt due to inefficient industries and lack of foreign trade revenue.
• Creation of Dependency Theory explained how the global economic system kept developing countries dependent and unequal.
• 1970s Oil Crisis: OPEC's 1973 oil embargo caused soaring prices, economic turmoil, and debt spikes in developing nations
  • ISI policies in Latin America failed, fueling instability and authoritarian regimes.
• OPEC (1960): Formed to counter Western oil dominance; embargo during the Yom Kippur War showcased its geopolitical power.
• NAFTA (1992): US, Canada, and Mexico signed a trade deal prioritizing energy security and sustainable development, leading to environmental agreements.
• Paris Agreement (2015): UN treaty to combat climate change through voluntary emissions cuts.
  • The US withdrew over concern related to economic an sovereignty concerns.
• USMCA (2018): Replaced NAFTA, removing the energy chapter to recognize Mexico's sovereignty over its resources.

Classical Liberalism

• Classical Liberalism: emphasized reducing state intervention in the economy to promote efficiency and competition
• 3 key features of classical liberalism are:
  • Privatization: Transferring public services and industries to private ownership
  • Deregulation: Reducing government rules and restrictions on businesses.
  • Trade Liberalization: Encouraging free trade by reducing tariffs and other barriers.
• Wary of IOs because they prefer minimal government intervention
  • Fear that IOs may impose excessive regulation and interfere with free markets
• Friedrich Hayek believed economies are inherently unpredictable and that central planning hinders natural processes
  • He argued that socialism poses a strong risk of totalitarianism as state control would inevitably extend beyond economics into all areas of social life
• Post Development Theory challenges the assumptions that development is a linear process that all societies must undergo
• IOs are just instruments of western dominance that impose a uniform development model
  • This is because IOs are seen as promoting Western ideals of progress, economic growth, and democracy and disregarding local contexts.
• Scholar Arturo Escobar argued that Western development practices often imposed a singular, Eurocentric model.
  • Advocated for a more pluralistic approach to development

Limitations of International Organizations

• Imperialism (1415-1776) marked the exploration of European countries and the conquest of new territories.
  • This Involved the expansion of trade networks, the establishment of trading outposts, and military dominance over indigenous populations
  • The mode of production accelerated the economic performance of the colonies and accounted for a majority of the wealth of the European settlers
• Colonialism (1776-1945) represented the formal establishment of European colonies
  • This resulted in exploitation of resources, land and labor in Africa, Asia and the Americas
• European powers enforced legal, economic and social structures that only benefits the colonizers and subjugated indigenous populations
• Neocolonialism involved the indirect control of western powers continuing to exert developing nations
  • The creation of international financial institutions was introduced in order to maintain unequal power dynamics
• Post Colonial Theory rejected IOs as an inherent part of the western developmental narrative.
  • This occurred because IOs were viewed as tools to subjugate poor countries into dependency relationships
  • IOs create the illusion of an equal playing field
• Hegemonic Narrative: colonial rule relied on the people's belief in about the nature of colonial expansion
• Bureaucratic Colonial State encouraged the creation of loyal elites with disproportionate power over important decisions

This lesson explores the dynamics of international organizations (IOs), highlighting their creation through sovereign states' commitments and their role as independent entities influencing global politics. It emphasizes the dual nature of states as both creators and participants in IOs, navigating concepts of state sovereignty and responsible sovereignty. It also examines differing approaches to compliance with IO rules.