ABSTRACT
International organizations (IO) are in an extraordinary period of transition.Organizations like the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization(WTO), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) play important and often controversial roles in the governance of the international and domestic affairs of many societies. Scholars, politicians, and citizens worldwide ask questions that address the nature and behavior of international organizations: Who created international organizations and why? Whose interests do these organizations serve? How do their activities affect individuals, groups, and societies? How do we make international organizations more effective? What is the future of international organizations? In this textbook, we examine the theory and practice of international organizations, recognizing that international organizations are part of a complex web of relations that can have subnational, national, international, and transnational ties. To trace the patterns of this complex web, we employ five theoretical frameworks-realism, liberalism, Marxism, feminism, and constructivism-as a means of approaching the subject. Technically speaking, a theory is a set of generalized principles that have descriptive, explanatory, and predictive value (Bennett 1995, 15). We can think of international relations theory as a way of systematizing and understanding world politics.
