International Organisation

Information about International Organisation

For the intergovernmental institution and political science term, see .

International Organization
border
Abbreviated title	IO
Discipline	International relations
Language	English
Publication details
Publisher	Cambridge University Press (United Kingdom)
Publication history	1947 to present
Indexing
ISSN	0020-8183
Links
*Journal homepage

International Organization is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers the entire field of international affairs. Subject areas include: foreign policies, international relations, international and comparative political economy, security policies, environmental disputes and resolutions, European integration, alliance patterns and war, bargaining and conflict resolution, economic development and adjustment, and international capital movements.

It is published by the Cambridge University Press on behalf of the International Organization Foundation.

In a 2005 survey, 1,084 international relations scholars were asked "which journals publish articles that have the greatest impact on the way international relations scholars think about their subject and their work" and to make a nominal list of their top four. Of the 749 scholars who replied, 521 (≈70%) listed IO with International Studies Quarterly coming in second with 371 (≈50%) responses.^[1]

References

1. ^ Susan Peterson et al. "Teaching and Research Practices, Views on the Discipline, and Policy Attitudes of International Relations Faculty at U.S. Colleges and Universities." College of William and Mary, Williamsburg VA. August 2005

External links

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For the political science journal, see .

An international organization is, by definition, any organization with international membership, scope, or presence. However, in common usage, the term is commonly reserved for intergovernmental organizations (IGO) such as the United Nations, the European Community, or the World Trade Organization, with sovereign states or other IGOs as members. Their scope and aims are most usually in the public interest but may also have been created with a specific purpose.

While many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), a generalizing term used for privately created organizations with international scope, certainly have international presence and aims, it is in the sense of IGOs that the term "international organization" is used in the remainder of this article.

Legal nature

Legally speaking, an international organization may be established by a constituent document such as a charter, a treaty or a Convention, which when signed by the founding members, provides the IGO with legal recognition. International organizations so established are subjects of international law, capable of entering into agreements among themselves or with states. Thus international organizations in a legal sense are distinguished from mere groupings of states, such as the G-8 and the G-77, neither of which have been founded by a constituent document and exist only as task groups, though in non-legal contexts these are sometimes referred erroneously as international organizations.

International organizations must also be distinguished from treaties. Many treaties (e.g., the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or, in the 1947-1995 period, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)) do not establish an international organization and rely purely on the parties for their administration becoming legally recognized as an ad hoc commission.

Membership and function

International organizations differ in function, membership and membership criteria. Membership of some organisations (global organizations) is open to all the nations of the world as far as they comply with membership criteria and after approval by a general assembly or similar body. This category includes the United Nations and its specialized agencies and the World Trade Organization. Other organizations are only open to members from a particular region or continent of the world, like European Union, African Union, ASEAN and other regional organizations.

Finally, some organizations base their membership on other criteria: cultural or historical links (the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the Latin Union), level of economic development or type of economy (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC), or religion (Organization of the Islamic Conference).

The Union of International Associations provides ancillary information on international organizations.

Historical Development of International Organizations

International organizations developed mainly from the need of nations and governments to have a neutral forum where to debate and consider matters of importance to more than one particular nation. However, some IOs also developed from the need of an either executive or enforcement body which could carry on multinational interests in an unified form.

Among the first IOs was the future International Telecommunications Union, which was founded by the signing of the International Telegraph Convention by twenty countries in May 1865.

In the nineteenth century, France showed interest in the creation of many international organizations (such as those which maintain the SystÃ¨me international d'unitÃ©s (metric system)).

Purpose of International organizations

International organizations describe and define their purpose in their charter or other document of creation. International Organizations exist with diverse aims, including but not limited to increase international relations, promote education, health care, economic development, environmental protection, human rights, humanitarian efforts, inter-cultural approach and conflict resolution.

Examples of organizations

Global organizations

United Nations, its , and associated organizations
International Hydrographic Organization
International Seabed Authority
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
World Trade Organization
INTERPOL

Regional organizations

Organizations grouping almost all the countries in their respective continents. Note that Russia is member of both the Council of Europe (COE) and the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), and Cuba is currently a suspended member of the Organization of American States (OAS)

Several smaller regional organizations with non-overlapping memberships.

Several non-overlapping large alliances. Softer colors indicate observer/associate or candidate countries.

Europe:

Asia:

Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
East Asian Summit (EAS)
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)
Gulf Cooperation Council
Colombo Plan

Eurasia:

Africa:

Western Hemisphere:

Organization of American States (OAS)
Union of South American Nations
Mercosur
Andean Community
Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Association of Caribbean States (ACS)
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
Central American Parliament
Rio Group
Cooperation System of the American Air Forces(SICOFAA)

Trans-atlantic:

Arctic Ocean:

Arctic Council

Indian Ocean:

Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)
Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)

Pacific:

Organizations with various membership criteria

International organizations that largely represent the independent states formed after the breakup of an empire. La Francophonie has overlapping membership with all three of the other organizations shown in the map.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC)
Commonwealth of Nations
La Francophonie
Comunidade dos paÃses de lÃngua portuguesa (CPLP)
Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI)
UniÃ³n Latina
Non-Aligned Movement
Arab League
Organization of the Islamic Conference
Advisory Centre on WTO Law
International Parliament for Safety and Peace (IPSP)

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