ABSTRACT
This book began with a seemingly innocuous question: what is an international organization? After reading the contents of the work and studying the general and specific aspects of international organizations, the answer should include elements of openness and flexibility, as well as understanding of the laws and rules that are applicable to these organizations. In other words, the best answer to this question might focus on organizations that generally apply standard laws and rules but are also in a state of constant evolution. Combining the certainty of law with the flexibility of evolution could perhaps seem counterintuitive, especially in the context of an organization tasked with creating and implementing international law and norms. However, the lessons of this book prove quite the contrary. Indeed, a quintessential aspect of the history and practice of international organizations is that they are durable and able to incorporate flexibility in everything from membership to function without losing the legitimacy they have gained in the international community.
