Description

The course examines the myriad ways in which states have brought order and organization to their international conduct, with special emphasis on the functions and activities of formal international institutions. We will cover general purpose organizations, like the UN and (increasingly) the EU, as well as those with more specialized functions, like NATO (security), the WTO (trade), the IMF and World Bank (finance and development), and the ICC (criminal justice). These organizations are the creations of states, but we will also look at nongovernmental organizations, like Greenpeace and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Such organizations are the creations of private actors, but aspire to serve the global public good. They, along with less formal transnational networks and social movements, constitute an emerging global civil society.

Learning Objectives

The general objective of this course is to develop the student's capacity to critically examine problems in international organization and global governance, consider the range of possible solutions to those problems, and communicate the results of this analysis to others. These objectives are to be accomplished by exposing students to relevant literature from the field of international organization. By the end of the term, students should be able to:

• show a familiarity with a wide range of substantive issues in international organization;
• understand the basic functioning of the most important institutions in international society;
• articulate coherent positions on a key normative debates arising from the quest for global governance; and
• design and execute a research project on some problem related to international organization, and communicate the findings to others.
   

Requirements and Evaluation

Readings

There are no required textbooks for this course. All assigned readings are available online (click the pdf link and then enter the course password). In addition to the assigned readings, you should be reading, on a regular basis, the New York Times, the Washington Post, or some other newspaper with thorough international coverage. Your performance in the course will reflect your familiarity with current issues of international organization and governance, and not just an understanding of lecture material and course readings.

CLASS SCHEDULE

• Hedley Bull, The Anarchical Society: A Study of Order in World Politics (Macmillan , 1977), chaps. 1-2. (pdf)
• Michael Barnett and Martha Finnemore, Rules for the World: International Organizations in Global Politics (Cornell University Press, 2004), chap. 2. (pdf)

• Paul Kennedy, The Parliament of Man: The Past, Present, and Future of the United Nations (Random House, 2006), chap. 1. (pdf)
• Thomas G. Weiss et al., The United Nations and Changing World Politics, 5th ed. (Westview, 2007), introduction. (pdf)
• slides

• Ian Hurd, After Anarchy: Legitimacy and Power in the United Nations Security Council (Princeton University Press, 2007), chaps. 4-5. (pdf)
• Michael J. Glennon, "Why the Security Council Failed," Foreign Affairs (May/June 2003), pp. 16-35. (pdf)
• slides

• Alexandra Gheciu, NATO in the "New Europe": The Politics of International Socialization after the Cold War (Stanford University Press, 2005), chap. 2. (pdf)
• Dan Reiter, "Why NATO Enlargement Does Not Spread Democracy," International Security (Spring 2001), pp. 41-67. (pdf)
• Michael Cox, "Beyond the West: Terrors in Transatlantia," European Journal of International Relations (June 2005), pp. 203-233. (pdf)
• slides

• David Mitrany, "The Functional Approach to World Organization," International Affairs (July 1948), pp. 350-363. (pdf)
• Desmond Dinan, Europe Recast: A History of the European Union (Lynn Rienner, 2004), chap. 1. (pdf)
• Amitai Etzioni, "The Community Deficit," Journal of Common Market Studies (March 2007), pp. 23-42. (pdf)
• slides

• Frederick M. Abbott, "NAFTA and the Legalization of World Politics: A Case Study," International Organization (Summer 2000), pp. 519-547. (pdf)
• Richard H. Steinberg, "In the Shadow of Law or Power? Consensus-Based Bargaining and Outcomes in the GATT/WTO," International Organization (Spring 2002), pp. 339-374. (pdf)
• Susan Esserman and Robert Howse, "The WTO on Trial," Foreign Affairs (January/February 2003), pp. 130-140. (pdf)
• slides

• Ngaire Woods, The Globalizers: The IMF, the World Bank, and Their Borrowers (Cornell University Press, 2006), chaps. 1-3. (pdf)
• Michele Fratianni and John Pattison, "International Financial Architecture and International Financial Standards," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (January 2002), pp. 183-199. (pdf)

• Malcolm N. Shaw, "The International Court of Justice: A Practical Perspective," International and Comparative Law Quarterly (October 1997), pp. 831-865. (pdf)
• Jamie Mayerfeld, "Who Shall Be Judge? The United States, the International Criminal Court, and the Global Enforcement of Human Rights," Human Rights Quarterly (February 2003), pp. 93-129. (pdf)
• slides

• Oran R. Young, "The Architecture of Global Environmental Governance: Bringing Science to Bear on Policy," Global Environmental Politics (February 2008), pp. 14-32. (pdf)
• Maria Ivanova and Daniel C. Esty, "Reclaiming U.S. Leadership in Global Environmental Governance," SAIS Review (Summer/Fall 2008), pp. 57-75. (pdf)
• Remi Parmentier, "Greenpeace and the Dumping of Waste at Sea: A Case of Non-State Actors' Intervention in International Affairs," International Negotiation (1999), pp. 433-455. (pdf)

• Manuel Castells, "The New Public Sphere: Global Civil Society, Communication Networks, and Global Governance," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (March 2008), pp. 78-93. (pdf)
• Mary Kaldor, "The Idea of Global Civil Society," International Affairs (May 2003), pp. 583-593. (pdf)
• Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics (Cornell University Press, 1998), chap. 1. (pdf)
• slides
• Presentations by Krista Lane, Ashley Rasmussen, Rachel Stoll, Ted Volchok