International Organisations and Global Problems: Theories and Explanations

Description

International organisations (IOs) are considered fundamental in addressing global problems, but how effective are they? Conflict (war), human rights, global health, financial governance, international trade, regionalisation, development and the environment are all issues that international organisations have been created to address. This book looks at these eight key issue areas and guides the reader through an analysis of the successes and failures of international organisations in solving issues in global politics. With an introduction to international relations theory, it incorporates the best and most up-to-date scholarly research, and applies it to examples from around the world to show how to answer the question, 'Are IOs a help or a hindrance?' This textbook is an essential resource for courses on global governance, international organisations and international relations. Including an expanded further reading list for each global issue, as well as a thorough bibliography of the most up-to-date research, this is a resource that will be useful during study and on into the future.

Susan Park is an Associate Professor in International Relations at the University of Sydney. She has published in journals including International Politics, Global Governance and Global Environmental Politics. She is also the author of World Bank Group Interacts with Environmentalists: Changing International Organisation Identities (2010) and co-editor of Owning Development: Creating Global Policy Norms in the IMF and the World Bank (Cambridge, 2010).

'How do international organizations (IOs) solve problems? In this theoretically driven book, Dr Susan Park examines how IOs tackle the complex global issues of the day. With a keen eye towards the politics that empower and constrain IOs, Park produces a pragmatic approach to understanding the dense ecosystem of IOs, how they should function, and - most importantly - how they actually perform in the real world.' Catherine Weaver, University of Texas, Austin 'This is an outstanding book, well thought out, synthetic, clear, and documented, with a very enlightening personal vision of the two parallel processes of IO proliferation and emanation, which are rarely addressed in comparable works. Susan Park will help students to better understand a world more or less victim of scholars' benign neglect.' Yves Schemeil, Institut Universitaire de France, politique globale et comparee, Professeur emerite, Sciences Po Grenoble