POLI 212 Introduction to International Politics of Education School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/2015 –2016/2017 POLI 212 Introduction to International Politics Session

College of Education

School of Continuing and Distance Education2014/2015 – 2016/2017

POLI 212

Introduction to International

Politics

Session 10 – INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

Lecturer: Dr. Bossman E. AsareContact Information: [email protected]/[email protected]

Session Overview

– Overview In this session, students will be introduced toIntergovernmental Organizations (IGOs).IGOs are organizations that have countries asmembers.The discussions will focus on the theories thatexplain the activities of IGOs, the variousclassifications of IGOs in terms of the scope of theirmembership and whether they address multipleissues or single issues. W e will end the discussionson the United Nations.

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Session Outline

The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows:

• Topic One: Theories Explaining the Activities of IGOs

• Topic Two: Classification of IGOs and the United Nations

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Reading List

• Read Kegley and Blanton chapters 6 and 14

• Asare, chapter 5

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THEORIES EXPLAINING THE ACTIVITIES OF IGOS

Topic One

Slide 5

Introduction

• Intergovernmental Organizations or International GovernmentalOrganizations (IGOs) are organizations or institutions whose membersare countries and they make collective decisions on behalf of theircountries. Individuals cannot be members of IGOs. The meaningprovided means that only countries are allowed to join IGOs. At times,IGOs are called international organizations.

• The problem is that international organizations are broad and theyinclude all organizations that have international presence and mandate.International nonprofit organizations such as Oxfam International,World Vision International, Care International, Action Aid, and Doctorswithout Borders are all international organizations. Even businessorganizations operating in several countries usually called multinationalcorporations are international organizations.

• Because of this, international organizations are an umbrella concept fora number of organizations operating in the global system. Once you talkabout IGOs, it sends a clear signal that you are talking aboutorganizations with countries as members.

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Introduction (contd.)

• IGOs are often described as international regimes in the sense that theycome up with rules that regulate the behavior of member countries. Theliterature on international regimes sees regimes as embodying rules,norms, principles, and procedures, which regulate the behavior of themember states that have agreed to the setting up of the regime.

• The widely used definition of regimes was given by Krasner (1983:2), whoargues that regimes are “sets of implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules,and decision-making procedures around which actors’ expectationsconverge in a given area of international relations.”

• Principles are beliefs of facts, causation, and rectitude. Norms arestandards of behavior defined in terms of rights and obligations. Rules arespecific prescriptions or proscriptions for action.”

• Literally, IGOs come up with rules that regulate the behavior of memberstates in a manner that advance the cause of the IGOs.

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Introduction (contd.)

• There are several examples of IGOs. Some of them are the UnitedNations (www.un.org), the World Bank (www.worldbank.org), theIMF, the WTO, the International Criminal Court (ICC), theInternational Labor Organization (ILO), Food and AgriculturalOrganization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), AfricanUnion (www.africa-union.org),European Union, ECOWAS(www.ecowas.info),Mercosur (Common Market Southern Cone,South America), Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC),Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), AndeanGroup, Organization of American States (OAS), Universal PostalUnion (UPU), NATO (www.nato.int), Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC-www.apec.org), Organization for Cooperationand Security in Europe (OCSE-www.osce.org), Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations(ASEAN-www.aseansec.org), League ofArab States(Arab League), Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC),European Space Agency (ESA), and Nordic Council.

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Theoretical Perspectives on the Activities of IGOs

• Scholars have variously discussed five theories or approaches thatunderpin the activities of IGOs. These are functionalism,neofunctionalism, intergovernmentalism, federalism, and multilevelgovernance. David Mitrany came up with functionalism in the 1940s toindicate how IGOs grow to become important institutions that end upproviding services to states.

• Basically, with functionalism, IGOs are experts who solve the problemsthat countries are expected to address in their domestic environments.This perspective sees IGOs as existing to help countries address policy andother related problems. Neofunctionalism sees a more positive role forstates in IGOs. It stresses that states and IGOs are caught in a network ofinterdependence that allows supranational organizations (IGOs) andorganized interests to shape both policy and integration in a manner thatbenefit both states and IGOs (Bache and Flinders 2004; Asare 2009).

• Basically, neofunctionalism does not just see states as dependent on IGOsto provide services for them, rather, both states and IGOs work in tandemto promote policies that benefit both entities.

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Theoretical Perspectives on the Activities of IGOs (contd.)

• Intergovernmentalism suggests that member-states of IGOs are more importantthan the IGOs. Primarily, the states are superior to the IGOs. In explicit terms,intergovernmentalism emphasizes that states are independent entities who arenot constrained by the policies of external entities, including IGOs and other non-state actors in the international system (Asare 2009). This perspective essentiallyindicates that states are the agenda setters in the IGOs.

• Also, multilevel governance denotes the existence of various levels of governmentinfluencing public policies in countries. These levels include IGOs and other non-state actors and individual countries and sub-state actors (decentralizedinstitutions). With the multi-level governance framework, IGOs are among theactors that shape policies in the member countries.

• Finally, some studies have treated IGOs as institutions capable of controlling theworld in the form of federalism. In this instance, IGOs are central governments andindividual countries are units (states or provinces). Federalism denotes theexistence of two levels of political authorities in a jurisdiction (Asare 2007). Somefederal political systems are South Africa, Nigeria, Germany, Canada, United States,and India. The direct opposite of federalism is unitary (unitary government). In aunitary political system there is a central government that controls the entirecountry.

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Sample questions

• What is the difference between neofunctionalismand functionalism?

• How does intergovernmentalism explain the activities of IGOs?

• Briefly explain how multilevel governance and federalism underpin the activities of IGOs.

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CLASSIFICATION OF IGOS AND THE UNITED NATIONS

Topic Two

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Classification of IGOs

IGOs are either single purpose or multipurpose organizations.

Single purpose means that they focus on only one central activity. Takethe ILO and the WHO into consideration and you realize that theseorganizations focus on labor and health issues, respectively. Otherexamples of single purpose IGOs are the ICC and the FAO.

Multipurpose organizations deal with a number of issues. Some well-known multipurpose IGOs are the United Nations, the EU, the WorldBank, the AU, and ECOWAS.

Similarly, there are global, regional, interregional, and sub-regionalIGOs. Global or worldwide IGOs are those whose members come fromall parts of the world. In other words, global IGOs have universalmembership. Some notable examples are the UN, the World Bank, theIMF, the WHO, and the WTO.

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Classification of IGOs (contd.)

• Regional IGOs are those whose memberships are restricted tocountries in specific regions of the world. Only countries in Africacan be members of the AU whilst the EU is for countries in Europe.Both Germany and the United Kingdom cannot be members ofNAFTA, because it is an organization for North American countries.

• Sub-regional IGOs, such as SADC and ECOWAS, are confined tospecific portions of certain regions of the world. Some will say theseare IGOs in a region within a region. SADC is in Africa but is an IGOfor Southern African countries. This suggests that Ghana andNigeria cannot be members of SADC, just as Kenya and South Africacannot be members of ECOWAS.

• Interregional IGOs have members from different regions of theworld. A typical example is the League of Arab States. Some of themember countries are in North Africa and others are in the MiddleEast.

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The United Nations Organization

• The United Nations is the most prominent and largest of all IGOs. Currently theUnited Nations boasts of 193 member countries. It is headquartered in New YorkCity (Manhattan) in the United States.

• As the leading diplomatic institution in the world and just like other IGOs, theconcept of extraterritoriality applies to its headquarters. This means that, althoughthe headquarters is in the United States, that portion of New York City that housesthe United Nations does not belong to the United States. Instead, it belongs to allthe member countries of the United Nations.

• The discussions that led to the formation of the United Nations started 1944 fromAugust to October in Washington, DC following the devastations caused by WorldWar II. Then in 1945, at the United Nations Conference on InternationalOrganizations in San Francisco (California, USA), delegates from 50 countries cameup with the UN Charter which continues to shape the international system.

• The United Nations became official as an institution to promote global peace andinternational understanding on October 1945 following the ratification of thecharter by majority of member-states.

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The United Nations Organization (contd.)

• The United Nations has done a lot for the global system since its establishment. Itis the best example of a multipurpose organization. It is into almost all areas ofpolicy that concern human beings and the world at large.

• On a regular basis, we see the United Nations doing something in politics, security,education, energy, economic development, conflict resolution, health, illicit drugs,and several others. Contemporarily in Ghana and other developing economies, wehear of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This was an initiative of theUnited Nations to promote human development in the world.

• There are also a number of agencies, such as the United Nations DevelopmentProgram (UNDP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) thatshape a number of UN activities.

• On 25th September 2015 the UN General Assembly officially adopted theSustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals that will replace the MDGswhich will expire by the end of 2015.

• The SDGs are 17 and they are meant to address several challenges in theinternational including ending poverty and hunger as well as addressing climatechange.

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MDGs and SDGs

• The eight objectives of the MDGs are 1, Eliminate extreme hunger and poverty in the world 2,Achieve universal primary education 3, Promote gender equality and empower women 4, Reducechild mortality 5, Improve maternal health 6, Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases 7,Ensure environmental sustainability 8, Develop global partnership for development.

• The 17 SDGs are 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere 2. End hunger, achieve food securityand improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture 3. Ensure healthy lives and promotewell-being for all at all ages 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promotelifelong learning opportunities for all 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women andgirls 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 7. Ensureaccess to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 8. Promote sustained,inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work forall 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fosterinnovation 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries 11. Make cities and humansettlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 12. Ensure sustainable consumption andproduction patterns 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 14.Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainabledevelopment 15. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources forsustainable development, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems,sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation andhalt biodiversity loss 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development,provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at alllevels 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership forsustainable development (www.sustainabledevelopment.un.org)

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Organs or Key Institutions of the United Nations

• There are five main organs or structures that define the activities and functions of the UnitedNations. These structures are the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Secretariat, theInternational Court of Justice or the World Court, and the Economic and Social Council. There usedto be the Trusteeship Council that was responsible for the territories of the UN. However, with theindependence of all UN territories, this organ ceased to function as one of the organs of the UN.

• The Security Council- this is the organ responsible for ensuring security and peace in theinternational system. It is not uncommon for you to hear some social commentatorsand international relations experts saying that the Security Council is the mostimportant organ of the United Nations. With the threat posed by terrorists, leaderskilling their own people and the acquisition of Weapons of Mass Destructions (WMDs)by countries, the Security Council has even become more prominent as it has to comeup with policies to combat these international challenges.

• Against the backdrop of these problems and several others, the Security Council mustdetermine when it is feasible for United Nations forces to intervene in other countriesto promote peace and security. Recently, the Security Council passed a resolution thatallowed France, Britain and the United States to provide air support and weapons torebels in Libya that led to the toppling of the Gaddafi regime in 2011. The peacekeepingactivities of the United Nations are under the directive of the Security Council. Peacebuilding, peacemaking, and peace enforcement have also received attention in theprograms of the Security Council.

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The security council

• Peacekeeping are the efforts by third parties such as the UN to intervene in civilwars and/or interstate wars or to prevent hostilities between potential belligerentsfrom escalating, so that by acting as a buffer, a negotiated settlement of thedispute can be reached.

• Peacemaking is the process of diplomacy, mediation, negotiation or other forms ofpeaceful settlement that arranges an end to a dispute and resolves the issues thatled to the conflict. Peace building are post conflict actions, predominantlydiplomatic and economic, that strengthen and rebuild governmental infrastructureand institutions in order to avoid renewed recourse to armed conflict.

• Peace enforcement is the application of military force to warring parties, or thethreat of its use, normally pursuant to international authorization, to compelcompliance with resolutions or with sanctions designed to maintain or restorepeace and order.

• Currently there are United Nations forces in Somalia, Democratic Republic ofCongo, and other countries undertaking a number of operations in the name ofthe United Nations and specifically the Security Council. Although the troopsusually come from specific countries, say Ghana or India, once they are deployedto conflict zones they promote peace and security in the name of the UnitedNations, not their countries.

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The Security Council (contd.)

• The Security Council has 15 member countries. Five of the 15 are permanentmembers and the other 10 are rotating members. The permanent members arethose with the veto and they are the United States, France, China, Russia, and theUnited Kingdom. The five countries with the veto won World War 2. The fivecountries largely brought the idea of the formation of the UN. The non-permanentmembers rotate every two years among UN member countries. Each month onecountry’s representative serves as the president of the council. This has nothing todo with whether you are a permanent member or not. Countries haveAmbassadors to the UN who serve as president when it is the turn of theircountries.

• On occasions when the Foreign Ministers of member countries are attending UNmeetings and the Security Council is meeting, the Foreign Minister of the countrythat has the presidency for that month will chair the meeting. They use the Englishalphabetical listing of member states to determine the presidency for the month.Thus, if both Ghana and Nigeria start a two-year term at the council, Ghana willserve the presidency before Nigeria because G comes before N in the Englishalphabet. At the end of the month, the country that chairs the presidency mustsubmit a report or monthly assessment of activities to the President of theSecurity Council.

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The security council (contd.)

• There are two main matters that concern the Security Council. These areprocedural and substantive matters.

• Procedural matters require only a simple majority of the 15 members toarrive at a decision. Procedural matters are usually the discussions thattake place in the Security Council. Veto wielding countries are preventedfrom exercising the veto in discussions of the Security Council. Any of theveto power countries may decide against a procedural matter but as longas the majority of the countries are for it, the decision will hold.

• With the substantive matters, however, all the five permanent countriesmust support a particular decision before the Security Council can act onit. If one veto wielding country does not support, it means the decision isnull and void. The substantive matters are those activities such asimposing sanctions, maintaining security, and international peace that arecore to the Security Council. In the voting of the council it is required thatat least nine members are present for the exercise to be consideredlegitimate.

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The Seceretariat

• This is the organ responsible for the daily administration of the United Nations.This is where you find the Secretary General of the United Nations who is the faceof the organization. Apart from the Secretary General, there are several thousandsof workers in the secretariat.

• The staff of the secretariat support the various organs of the UN to carry out theiractivities. Specifically, they provide support for administering peacekeepingoperations, surveying economic, political and social trends, preparing studies onhuman rights, among others.

• The secretariat has various divisions and each division has workers working ondifferent issues. Some of the departments in the secretariat are the ExecutiveOffice of the Secretary-General (EOSG), Office of Internal Oversight Services(OIOS),Office of Legal Affairs (OLA),Department of Political Affairs (DPA), Office forDisarmament Affairs (ODA), Department of Peacekeeping Operations(DPKO),Department of Field Support (DFS), Office for the Coordination ofHumanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA),Department for General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM),Department of Public Information (DPI), Department of Safety and Security (DSS),and Department of Management (DM).

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The General Assembly

• This is the assembly of representatives of all member countries of the UN.It is the main deliberative organ of the UN as all member countries havethe opportunity to contribute to the discussions of the Assembly.

• Countries that are not members of the UN are granted observer status bythe UN so that they can take part in the discussions of the GeneralAssembly. However, these countries do not take part in the voting of theAssembly. Currently, the Holy See or the Vatican City has observer statuswith the UN.

• A unique feature of the General Assembly is that each country has onevote. It matters not the size of your population or level of economicdevelopment, all countries have the same vote. Togo has the same vote asthe United States, China, and India.

• On major and important decisions regarding budgeting, admission of newmembers, and peace and security, voting is based on two-thirds (2/3)majority. In other matters, voting is just simple majority.

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The General Assembly (contd.)

• The General Assembly has six main committees that carry out itsactivities. The six committees are First Committee(Disarmamentand International Security), concerned with disarmament andrelated international security questions; Second Committee(Economic and Financial), concerned with economic questions;Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural),deals withsocial and humanitarian issues; Fourth Committee (Special Politicaland Decolonization),deals with a variety of political subjects notdealt with by the First Committee, as well as with decolonization;Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) deals with theadministration and budget of the United Nations; and SixthCommittee (Legal), concerned with international legal matters.

• There are other bodies, commissions and councils that alsofacilitate the work of the assembly.

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The International Court of Justice

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also called the World Court, is thejudicial organ of the UN. Under the ambit of international law, the ICJsettles disputes between member countries of the UN and gives advisoryopinions on legal questions referred to it by organs of the UN and otherUN specialized agencies such as the World Bank, the WHO, and the IMF.Unlike the other organs of the UN which are located in New York City, thecourt is located at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).

• The court has 15 judges who are elected to serve a nine year term by theGeneral Assembly and the Security Council. Not all of the 15 judges areelected at the same time. Unless there is an emergency judges aretypically elected every three years.

• This means for the current 15 judges, some will finish their term in 2018,while others will finish in 2021. The court is headed by a President who isassisted by a Vice-President. Both of them are elected by secret ballot bythe judges of the court every three years.

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Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)

ECOSOC is fundamentally responsible for the coordination of theeconomic, social, and related work of the several UN Specializedagencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. Itserves as the avenue for discussing global economic and social issues,as well as formulating policy recommendations addressed to member-states and the United Nations system. ECOSOC’s responsibilities are:• promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and

economic and social progress;• identifying solutions to international economic, social and health

problems;• facilitating international cultural and educational cooperation; and• Encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental

freedoms.

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Sample questions

• Why was the UN set up?

• What is the difference between procedural issues and substantive issues at the UN security council?

• List and explain one function each of the UN organs.

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Conclusion of Session Ten

• This session has examined the various theories that explain the activities of IGOs as well as the various classifications of IGOs.

• We have also looked at the United Nations against the backdrop of its formation, the organs, the agencies and the specialized agencies.

• The next session will look at the activities of other IGOs. Specifically we will look at the World Bank, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the European Union (EU), and the African Union.

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References

• Bossman E. Asare, 2016. International Politics: TheBeginner’s Guide- Updated and Expanded, Digibooks.

• Charles W. Kegley Jr. and Shannon L. Blanton, 2010. WorldPolitics: Trend and Transformation, Wadsworth: CengageLearning.

• Asare, Bossman (2009) The African Union, Multi-level Governance and Accountability in Africa, Legon Journal of International Affairs, 6 (2): 121-137.

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