International organizations (IOs) assume a crucial role in world politics and have been created to address fundamental global challenges such as conflict and post-conflict interventions, financial governance, international trade or environmental and developmental issues. How and when were they created, how have they changed over time and how successful and effective are they in going about global problems? International Relations (IR) theories as well as global governance approaches theorize their role with regard to their legitimacy, power and influence, dysfunctional behavior or change. Theories of international organizations specifically view IOs as organizations and draw on organizational studies to understand and explain IO behavior. The aim of this seminar is it to show how IOs occupy and become experts in particular policy fields, influence policy discourses or set standards, and thus, regulate and shape global politics. Students will be introduced to the main IR theories on IOs to understand why states delegate power to IOs in the first place. We then dive deeper into current debates within IO approaches with a focus on those inspired by organizational sociology. Based on this introduction to theory, we will secondly engage in case studies of IOs and learn how they engage in new forms of governance in specific policy fields. The seminar provides students with analytical skills to better understand the politics of intergovernmental organizations. Through the case studies, students will acquire knowledge about how these organizations attempt to influence politics in their respective policy fields and whether they are a help or a hindrance.

 

 

Requirements:

Attendance and active participation are expected in order to participate in the course. Regarding exam requirements please refer to the respective study regulation for your MA programme.

 

 

Basic Literature:

Park, Susan (2018) International Organisations and Global Challenges: Theories and Explanations, Cambridge University Press.

Kurs im HIS-LSF