Intergovernmental Organizations, Nongovernmental organizations, and International Law ETIT – Week 10

State and Individuals are not the only actors in international politics. As International Organizations (IOs), Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), supranational organizations and – not all of them though - nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) also play role in the international system. Introduction

1.International Organizations (IOs) “A body that promotes voluntary cooperation and coordination between or among its members.” There are many types of IOs, but one way of categorizing them is to distinguish between intergovernmental organizations (IGO) and supranational organizations.

1.1. IGO Composed of nation-states and it promotes voluntary co-operation and coordination among its members. Decisions and agreements reached in this type of organization however are not enforceable, and the members remain independent. The crucial aspect of an IGO is that the members do not surrender any power (or sovereignty) to it. The United Nations (UN) is an IGO.

1.2.Supranational Organizations Member states do surrender power in specific areas to the higher organization. Decisions taken by a supranational organization must be obeyed by the member states. Often there are courts to determine when violations have occurred, although frequently enforcement mechanisms are not as effective as they are within nation states. The European Union (EU) is partly an IGO and partly a supranational organization. Both of these elements exist in the EU.

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION (NGO) Specialised organisations, agencies, and groups, which are made up of private individuals, have committed to a vast range of issues, including protection of the environment, improving the level of basic needs in the Third World. What stands out about these organisations is that they establish networks and links between individuals across the globe.

Functionalism [Man] can be weaned away from his loyalty to the nation state by the experience of fruitful international cooperation; IO arranged according to the requirements of the task [can] increase welfare rewards to individuals beyond the level obtainable within the state. Individuals and groups could begin to learn the benefits of cooperation... creating interdependencies [and] undermining the most important bases of the nation state.

International co-operation should begin by dealing with specific transnational issues (such as disease control) where there was some prospect of applying specialised technical knowledge and where the success of such ‘functional’ arrangements would lead to further efforts to replicate the experience in an ever-widening process. Eventually, the existing inter-state system could become a working peace system.

Why have states chosen to organize themselves collectively ? As liberals (or functionalists) puts, within the framework of institutions and rules, cooperation is possible. IGOs are the arenas where states interact and cooperate to solve common problems. Assumption is that continuous interaction provides the motivation for states to create IOs.

In turn these organizations: 1) Moderate state behavior 2) Establish mechanisms for reducing cheating by monitoring others and punishing the uncooperative 3) Facilitate transparency for state actions

IOs useful for solving 2 sets of problems: 1) The need to cooperate on technical, often nonpolitical, issues where states are not the appropriate units for resolving these problems. 2) Form around collective goods (i.e.To avert the tragedy of the commons)

Tragedy of Commons A dilemma arising from the situation in which multiple individuals, acting independently and rationally consulting their own self-interest, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource even when it is clear that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this to happen.

Several possible solutions to the tragedy of the commons: 1) Coercion: Force nations or people to use collective goods responsibly. 2) Restructure the preferences of the states: Rewards and punishments 3) Alter the size of group

UN resimi

Number of resolutions vetoed by each of the P5

ENFORCEMENT AND CHAPTER VII Since the end of the CW, the Security Council has intervened in situations (Iraq war 1991) deemed threatening to international peace and security as authorized in Chpt. VII of the UN Charter. That provision enables the SC to take measures ( economic sanctions, direct military force) to prevent or deter threats to international peace or to counter acts of aggression. Previously, direct military action had been invoked only thrice (Korea-1950, Iraq- 1991, Libya-2011), the UN preferring the more limited, traditional peacekeeping. The 1990s were labeled the "sanctions decade" for the numerous times targeted sanctions were imposed. But getting agreement on when to impose sanctions/its extent can be difficult.

19 specialized agencies formally affiliated with the UN Each a reflection of functionalist thinking. Specialized areas of activity that individual states themselves can not manage alone. Have separate charters, memberships, budgets, and secretariats.

A Complex Network of Intergovernmental organization Mail and telecommunications move across national borders, marine transport and airplanes fly between states, technical rules are needed to govern these areas. Given the importance of these functional activities, it is not surprising that many of the specialized UN agencies actually predate the UN itself. For inst. The International Telecommunications Union (1865), The Universal Postal Service (1874),and International Civil Aviation Organization, International Maritime Organization, date from immediately after WWII.

19 specialized agencies formally affiliated with the UN – A Complex Network Each a reflection of functionalist thinking. Specialized areas of activity that individual states themselves can not manage alone. Have separate charters, memberships, budgets, and secretariats.