ABSTRACT
This volume has taken theoretical approaches to the study of international organization (IO) behavior, and used them to interpret the contentious issue of IO independence. Our question has been, under what circumstances can IOs be meaningful actors in world affairs? We have posited a two-step approach to acting: first, having preferences independently of states; second, translating those preferences into actions that have a real impact on world politics. We have tried to do so by looking at a wide range of organizations and an equally wide array of topics, from the Secretary-General’s office to the United Nations (UN) Office for Project Services, and from the high politics of international trade to the regulation of pollution discharged into the oceans.
