Arrangement

Research on international organizations (IOs) has been central to the discipline of International Relations since its foundation more than a century ago. In many ways, significant progress has been made as theory and analyses have advanced. Yet, despite a century of work, the creatures at the heart of this field remain mysterious. Some of the most widely used approaches offer simple and appealing definitions, largely rooted in a reading of relevant international law and Weberian social theory. Yet those who have looked closely at these institutions—international lawyers and sociologists included—have struggled to develop coherent views as to their shared characteristics. This talk makes the case for thinking about IOs through a sociological lens that decenters their legal and bureaucratic characteristics and brings a wider set of institutions into view. It discusses the advantages of this approach, demonstrating it how better illuminates the changing terrain of global governance, shows how it makes a real difference for research, and explains how it matters for policymaking more generally. While this approach does raise new conceptual and analytical challenges, we must confront the complexity of these institutions head on rather than sweeping it aside.

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