ABSTRACT
Among the various international organizations dealt with in this book, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) occupies a unique position. It has neither the decision-making competences nor economic capacity to achieve specific policy objectives. Rather, it is often described as a ‘club’, a ‘forum’ or a ‘think-tank’. Moreover, its true singularity lies in the fact that the OECD itself does not strive to acquire ‘decision-making’ capacity and finds its identity in being ‘soft’. Therefore, in contrast to its presence, the OECD is one of the least frequently studied international organizations. On the one hand, Realists find no reason to pay attention to such a ‘powerless’ organization, while on the other hand, its club-like character (exclusiveness, informality and even secrecy) and intergovernmental nature discourage the Constructivists who are generally more interested in such fields as human rights where the topic is universal and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or ‘civil society’ have some say.1
