ABSTRACT

This is a definitive and comprehensive history of international organizations from their very beginning at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 up to the present day, and provides the reader with nearly two centuries of world history seen from the perspective of international organizations. It covers the three main fields of international relations: security, economics and the humanitarian domain which often overlap in international organizations. As well as global and intercontinental organizations, the book also covers regional international organizations and international non-governmental organizations in all continents.

The book progresses chronologically but also provides a thematic and geographical coherence so that related developments can be discussed together. A series of detailed tables, figures, charts and information boxes explain the chronologies, structures and relationships of international organizations. There are biographies, histories and analysis of hundreds of international organizations. 

This is an essential reference work with direct relevance to scholars in international relations, international political economy, international economics and business and security studies.

chapter |2 pages

Introduction

part |2 pages

Part I: 1815 – British hegemony and the invention of the multilateral conference plus follow-up conference: The Concert of Europe and the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine

part |2 pages

Part II: Transnational networks of citizens: From the anti-slavery movement in 1815 to the International Committee of the Red Cross of 1863

part |2 pages

Part III: The creation of the Hague system: The arbitration movement and the 1899 and 1907 Peace Conferences in The Hague

part |2 pages

Part IV: Public International Unions 1865–1914: Institutionalization of conferences and the creation of continental markets in Europe and the Americas

part |2 pages

Part V: The international foundation for the welfare state 1880–1914: How governments became involved in international labour legislation

part |2 pages

Part VI: Laying down the path of collective security: The First World War, the League of Nations founded (1919) and the interwar period

part |2 pages

Part VII: Laying down the path of common economic endeavours: The International Labour Organization (1919) and the economic and social activities of the League of Nations

part |2 pages

Part VIII: American hegemony and the genesis and evolution of the United Nations system

part |2 pages

Part IX: Collective security in a bipolar world 1945–80

part |2 pages

Part XI: Decolonization, the North–South divide and Third World experiences with global and regional international organizations 1960–80

part |2 pages

Part XII: Development aid, environmental protection and human rights as normative powers: NGO pressure on governments through intergovernmental organizations 1960–80

part |2 pages

Part XIII: International organizations in the 1980s: The Cold War intensifies and neoliberalism replaces Keynesianism

part |2 pages

Part XIV: The 1990s and new challenges for the United Nations as peacekeeper

part |2 pages

Part XV: Globalization in the 1990s: New challenges for the United Nations system as promoter of economic and social stability

part |2 pages

Part XVI: Regional international organizations from the 1980s onwards

part |2 pages

Part XVII: Security and the international economy on the threshold of the twenty-first century

chapter 44|22 pages

International organizations under pressure

Registered in England & Wales No. 3099067
5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG© 2024 Informa UK Limited