International Relations Theories

• International organizations (IOs) serve as a means to organize international relations and have evolved into specific institutional forms.
• The development of modern IOs is linked to the Westphalian system of sovereign states, international law, Enlightenment ideals of international peace, and technological advancements.
• Experimentation with technical organizations led to the creation of more robust constructs like the League of Nations and the International Labour Organisation in 1919.
• International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) arose alongside state efforts, creating institutions beyond the nation-state.
• IOs address issues such as trade, warfare, communication, transportation, tourism, infectious diseases, and pollution by coordinating policies across borders.
• IOs function as guardians and cultivators of legal instruments to manage international and transnational issues.

League of Nations

• The League of Nations was established to maintain post-Versailles peace but failed to prevent World War II.
• The League's failures led to greater understanding of the challenges in operating IOs while respecting sovereign powers.
• The League's Council granted special privileges to great powers, including permanent membership for select nations.
• The Council's power was limited, as members could still be censured by the Assembly with its own transgressions.
• The League's focus was primarily on European issues, and it struggled to address socioeconomic factors affecting world peace.
• The League's Assembly and Secretariat contributed to the knowledge of how future IOs should function.

United Nations

• The United Nations (UN) was created after 1945, addressing some of the issues that plagued the League of Nations.
• The UN Security Council (UNSC) was fortified with permanent members (P-5) wielding veto power.
• The General Assembly became the main body for codifying international law and adjusting global rules.
• UN membership became global due to decolonization and the inclusion of non-Western issues.
• The UN includes the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for INGO cooperation and the Bretton Woods institutions (IMF, World Bank, WTO).
• Specialized organizations such as WHO, FAO, ICAO, UNESCO, and UNDP address specific global issues.
• IOs generally consist of a plenary body, a professionalized secretariat, and a narrower executive organ.
• Bretton Woods institutions use weighted voting, giving more power to countries with larger economies and contributions.
• Regional organizations like the Council of Europe or ECOWAS enhance legitimacy by including parliamentarians, municipal authorities, or national bureaucrats.

Proliferation of International Organization

• The 20th century saw a rise in international organizations across various regions and sectors.
• IOs consolidate cooperation among countries on specific issues, without necessarily requiring legal grounding.
• Non-governmental organizations are more numerous than intergovernmental ones.
• NGOs require domestic compliance and work towards a transnational reach.
• Judiciary IOs select judges and operate in chambers to allow for international justice.
• IO courts can be for states or extend to individuals.
• The International Court of Justice has jurisdiction over international law but relies on compulsory jurisdiction from countries and conventions.
• Human rights courts like the European Court of Human Rights allow individuals to seek redress for their rights.
• Criminal courts try individuals for crimes like war crimes and genocide and crimes against humanity.
• The International Criminal Court (ICC) was established, but faces challenges due to non-participation from major states.
• Tensions exist between international and national authority and legitimacy, which IOs must address.

How Power is Divided

• Ensuring efficacy, legitimacy, and accountability in IOs is unresolved.
• Realists believe that IOs have little independent impact and are tools of powerful states.
• Neoliberals view IOs as ways to decrease uncertainty, facilitate collaboration, and settle disputes while agreeing about the primacy of nation states.
• Constructivists believe IOs foster socialisation and can lead to permanent peaceful change.
• The English School emphasizes the variety of international life.
• Marxist narratives see IOs as tools of powerful states that perpetuate injustice.
• Regional integration theories suggest a transition from nation-states to larger collective regional entities.

Integration

• Integration can occur in a quasi-imperial setting through a powerful state providing public goods in exchange for allegiance.
• Mitrany's functionalism suggests breaking down state sovereignty bit by bit.
• Neofunctionalism focuses on societies moving expectations to the supranational level and empowering the IO.
• Deutsch's transactionalism defines integration by the density of societal transactions which creates a shared political identity.
• Unanimity in decision-making can lead to ineffective organizations, prompting majority voting in the UN with safeguards to prevent non-compliance.
• The UNSC uses a qualified majority with veto power for P-5 members.
• Weighing votes based on influence is used in Bretton Woods institutions, depending on financial contributions.
• Consensus requires members to negotiate patiently until competing interests are addressed.
• Newer consensus based systems involve innovative ways like an opt out clause.

UN Limitations

• The UN has not met initial expectations due to the UNSC structure and lack of major changes to the UN Charter.
• UNSC military sanctions are rarely agreed upon, leading to extra-Charter measures like UN Peacekeeping Operations (PKOs).
• PKOs are limited in scope and function, mainly observing truces and supervising elections, avoiding peace enforcement.
• Commitment from Western countries has declined in the post-Cold War era, shifting PKO responsibilities to developing countries.
• Efforts to strengthen PKOs have largely failed.
• UN human rights agendas face challenges from rights-skeptic countries altering normative underpinnings.
• The WTO has been constrained due to US unilateral trade protectionism.
• Efforts to make IOs work are focused at the regional level, with new areas for specialized regimes emerging.

Regional Arrangements

• Regional IOs play a pivotal role in pioneering approaches to cooperation and integration.
• While the EU was one of the pioneers in this area, emerging nations worldwide such as Mercosur have experienced worse success.
• ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council stand as two examples of a successful regional IO as they have adopted integration strategies tailored to their unique environments.
• ASEAN differs from the European Union as it has eliminated its integration processes from the customs union.
• The Gulf Cooperation Council also serves as a Saudi-led defensive military alliance, showcasing integration that in Europe is largely reserved to NATO only.
• ASEAN employs consensus in its decision-making, by using multiple forums to reach across sectors as well as reaching external parters.
• This ASEAN+ cooperation allows flexibility in choosing which members to choose when seeking a consensus .
• Regional currencies, like the EU, also are a part of the integrations, with CFA and ECO concurrently working on the sub groupings.
• ECOWAS, which seeks members to reconcile and re-integrate, stands in the middle for member suspensions and sanctions.

Supranationality: Europe vs. Others

• The EU model of supranational bureaucracies is rare, with few well-functioning examples globally.
• EAEU ,Mercosur and ECOWAS are superficial emulations of this system.
• ECOWAS has difficulties implementing policies due to limited capacity as it moves foward on its commission.
• ASEAN favours international negotiations over regional top-down structues that prove the validity of such alternatives like integrated regional markets.
• In instances with hegemonic stability, institutions can be built around the hegemon's case like NATO with its military strcutres residing with the US.
• NATO becomes a hybrid between domestic and international that morphs and co-exists with the power struggle between both.

This quiz explores key concepts in international relations theories. Questions cover Marxist views on IOs, regional integration, hegemonic stability theory, functionalism, IMF voting power, neofunctionalism, transactionalism, and the Washington Consensus.