ABSTRACT
Associations of states, sometimes called intergovernmental organisations (IGOs), form a very important part of the fabric of global politics. With some exceptions they once were the only examples of cooperative action in what was an international system dominated by states, and the phrase ‘international organisation’ still often carries that meaning. In the contemporary world there are many different kinds of transnational organisations and it is necessary to distinguish between those that originate with states and those that do not. The latter are discussed in the previous chapter.
