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Course Syllabus

Bachelor 2020/2021

International Organizations

Type: Elective course (Political Science and World Politics)
Area of studies: Political Science
Delivered by: Department of Political Science and International Affairs
Where: Saint-Petersburg School of Social Sciences
When: 4 year, 3 module
Mode of studies: offline
Instructors: Oleg Korneev
Language: English
ECTS credits: 5
Contact hours: 40

Course Syllabus

Full SyllabusAsk Question

Abstract

International organizations (IOs) have been a major focus of academic research and controversy in various subfields of Political Science and International Relations for already several decades. This course provides an analysis of the theory and practice of IOs and their role in global governance. It starts with a brief history of IOs and continues with a presentation of various theoretical perspectives that can be applied to their study. Through the lenses of different theoretical approaches, this part of the course discusses roles and functions of IOs (both intergovernmental and nongovernmental ones), resources that they have at their disposal, as well as issues of their actorness and legitimacy in the conditions of increasing regime complexity in international politics. The course proceeds with a review of activities that IOs undertake in specific issue areas and contemporary sites of global governance: peace and security, finance and development, migration, health. This is done through case studies of bodies such as the UN with its various agencies, the IMF, the World Bank, the IOM, the WHO, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and other referent and non-referent IOs. Specific attention is paid to their interactions with other international and local actors, including regional organizations and private agencies.
Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives

  • To provide an analysis of the theory and practice of IOs and their role in global governance.
  • To uncover roles and functions of IOs in the conditions of increasing regime complexity in international politics.
Expected Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes

  • knows history of IOs; understands and differentiates various theoretical perspectives that can be applied to the study of international organizations
  • knows roles and functions of international organizations in global governance
  • analyses how international organizations deal with contestations of their legitimacy
  • knows key activities of international organizations – both at the headquarters level and in the field – in areas of peace and security, finance and development, migration, health
  • analyses interactions of international organizations with other international and local actors, including regional organizations and private agencies
Course Contents

Course Contents

  • International Organizations: Definitions, History and Typologies
  • Roles and Functions of International Organizations (I)
  • Roles and Functions of International Organizations (II)
  • Regime Complexity, International Nongovernmental Organizations and Hybrid Organizations
  • Legitimacy of International Organizations
  • Activities of International Organizations: Peace and Security
  • Activities of International Organizations: Finance and Development
  • Activities of International Organizations: Migration (I)
  • Activities of International Organizations: Migration (II)
  • Activities of International Organizations: Health
Assessment Elements

Assessment Elements

  • non-blocking In-class participation
    Assessment will be based on preparation of the readings assigned to each session (class), participation in class discussion with the focus on qualitative contribution to the discussion, ability to answer questions based on the readings, come up with own interpretations and react to comments made by other students. Students are expected to contribute to the learning environment of the course: be actively involved in class discussions and in-class group assignments, cover the mandatory literature assigned to each session (class) and be ready to apply relevant analysis/interpretation(s) to their own research.
  • non-blocking Presentation
    Each seminar (starting from the week 2) will commence by a presentation prepared by a small group of students (up to 4 students per group). During the first seminar, students should propose for approval by the instructor: 1) composition of their groups; 2) topics for their presentations based on the topics/readings for each session (class). These presentations will function as basis for further class discussion. Therefore, presenters are supposed to cover mandatory and optional readings and, preferably, use other non-assigned sources for their analysis on the chosen topic in order to make a genuinely original contribution.
  • non-blocking Position papers (2)
    Each student will write two brief (800-1000 words) position papers on the assigned optional readings for two sessions of their choice. One paper should be written on a topic from the theoretical part of the course (classes from 2 to 5). The other paper should be written on a topic from the second part of the course focusing on activities of international organisations. The papers should not summarize the readings. They should link the readings with broader themes addressed in the course. Each paper should evaluate the main argument(s) in the readings. Papers should also compare and contrast the arguments in the readings. Position papers are due by the sessions that they are related to (i.e. if a student decides to write a position paper on the readings assigned for the session 2, she needs to submit her paper via email before this session).
  • non-blocking Exam (Open Book Essay)
    Open Book Essay (800-1000 words, with a list of references) should be written on a topic from the list provided by the instructor at the start of the exam. The proposed topics will focus on one or several theoretical aspects of the course and/or a case study either of a particular IO or an issue area in global governance. During the open book exam, students are allowed to use any literature or primary sources. The exam is held online in Zoom. The students should log in to Zoom 5 minutes before the start of the exam, switch on their cameras and mircrophones. After they have selected their essay topics, the students will need to complete their essays within 2 hours. The students should keep their cameras on during the entire examination. In case of long-term disconnection (5 minutes and more), the student may not continue the examination.
Interim Assessment

Interim Assessment

  • Interim assessment (3 module)
    0.25 * Exam (Open Book Essay) + 0.25 * In-class participation + 0.25 * Position papers (2) + 0.25 * Presentation
Bibliography

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

  • Adler, E. (2007). The Spreading of Security Community: Communities of Practice, Self Restraint and NATO’s Post Cold War Transformation. Conference Papers —— International Studies Association, 1–47. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=26960324
  • André Broome, & Leonard Seabrooke. (2012). Seeing like an International Organisation. New Political Economy, (1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1080/13563467.2011.569019
  • Babb, S., & Chorev, N. (2016). International Organizations: Loose and Tight Coupling in the Development Regime. Studies in Comparative International Development, 51(1), 81–102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12116-016-9217-7
  • Barnett, M. N., & Finnemore, M. (2004). Rules for the World : International Organizations in Global Politics. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=671352
  • Bliesemann de Guevara, B. (2016). Myth and Narrative in International Politics : Interpretive Approaches to the Study of IR. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1243387
  • Dingwerth, K., Witt, A., Lehmann, I., Reichel, E., & Weise, T. (2019). International Organizations Under Pressure : Legitimating Global Governance in Challenging Times (Vol. First edition). Oxford, United Kingdom: OUP Oxford. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2036225
  • Geiger, M., & Pécoud, A. (2014). International Organisations and the Politics of Migration. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 40(6), 865–887. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2013.855071
  • Harman, S. (2011). Searching for an Executive Head? Leadership and UNAIDS. Conference Papers —— International Studies Association, 1–35. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=119958528
  • Kenneth W. Abbott, & Duncan Snidal. (1998). Why States Act through Formal International Organizations. Journal of Conflict Resolution, (1), 3. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsrep&AN=edsrep.a.sae.jocore.v42y1998i1p3.32
  • The Oxford handbook of governance and limited statehood / edited by Thomas Risse, Tanja A. Börzel and Anke Draude. (2018). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.502246375
  • The Oxford Handbook of international organizations / edited by Jacob Katz Cogan, Ian Hurd, Ian Johnstone. (2016). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.473862530

Recommended Additional Bibliography

  • Best, J. (2007). Legitimacy dilemmas: the IMF’s pursuit of country ownership. Third World Quarterly, 28(3), 469–488. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436590701192231
  • Cooley, A., & Ron, J. (2002). The NGO Scramble: Organizational Insecurity and the Political Economy of Transnational Action. International Security, 27(1), 5–39. https://doi.org/10.1162/016228802320231217
  • Jon Harald Sande Lie. (2019). Local Ownership as Global Governance. The European Journal of Development Research, (4), 1107. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-019-00203-9
  • Koch, A. (2014). The Politics and Discourse of Migrant Return: The Role of UNHCR and IOM in the Governance of Return. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 40(6), 905–923. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2013.855073
  • Lavenex, S. (2016). Multilevelling EU external governance: the role of international organizations in the diffusion of EU migration policies. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 42(4), 554–570. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2015.1102047
  • Nitsan Chorev. (2013). Restructuring neoliberalism at the World Health Organization. Review of International Political Economy, (4), 627. https://doi.org/10.1080/09692290.2012.690774
  • Sara E. Davies, & Simon Rushton. (2016). Public health emergencies: a new peacekeeping mission? Insights from UNMIL’s role in the Liberia Ebola outbreak. Third World Quarterly, (3), 419. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2015.1110015
  • SENDING, O. J., & NEUMANN, I. B. (2006). Governance to Governmentality: Analyzing NGOs, States, and Power. International Studies Quarterly, 50(3), 651–672. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2478.2006.00418.x
  • STONE, D. (2013). “Shades of grey”: the World Bank, knowledge networks and linked ecologies of academic engagement. Global Networks, 13(2), 241–260. https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12007
  • Zaum, D. (2006). The Authority of International Administrations in International Society. Conference Papers —— International Studies Association, 1–29. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=27207135