International Organizations: The Politics and Processes of Global Governance

Abstract

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS The Politics and Processes of Global Governance Margaret P. Karns and Karen A. Mingst Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2004. xvi, 6o3pp, US$69.95 cloth (ISBN 1-55587-987-X), US$32.50 paper (ISBN 1-55587-963-2)THE G8, THE UNITED NATIONS, AND CONFLICT PREVENTION Edited by John J. Kirton and Radoslava N. Stefanova Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2004. xxvi, 334pp, US$99.95 doth (ISBN 0-7546-0879-4)The old international relations question, international organizations matter? rarely resonates in the contemporary literature, but these two books demonstrate that international organizations and other forms of global governance are important to influencing world political outcomes. Putting the pieces of global governance together, however, is another task for international relations' theorists and policymakers. Both of the books under review provide different lenses and propositions on how global governance is, and should be, managed.In International Organizations, Margaret Karns and Karen Mingst purport to show how sovereign states need nonstate actors-including international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and institutionalized groups-to better manage world politics. The authors provide a thorough examination of both traditional and contemporary theoretical approaches, from realism to constructivism, on why international organizations do, and do not, matter to world politics. There is a great attempt to incorporate a plethora of scholarly literature, but at times the authors rely too heavily on direct quotations from other texts. They also mention individual personalities who have made an impact on international organizations, helping to illustrate the role of an individual level of analysis, but in one notable error, they refer to Lloyd Axworthy as the Canadian prime minister.Overall, the chapters are well organized and follow a logical manner and progression, surveying the most to least relevant of international organizations and other nonstate actors, including the United Nations, numerous regional organizations from the generally over-examined European Union to the under-examined Organization of African States, nongovernmental organizations, international economic institutions, and international environmental institutions. Unlike many other similar books, the authors also provide a strong chapter on the history of global governance, examining the Concert of Europe, League of Nations, and the numerous international conferences that have taken place in modern history. Throughout the remaining chapters, the book addresses modern debates such as the relevance of the United Nations after America's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, and the criticism voiced against neoliberal economic institutions like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization. In a refreshing approach, the book ends with questions about how global institutions and groups are going to deal with new threats to human security like the HIV/AID S disease and to manage new technologies like the internet. This book is a great introductory reader to international organizations and will be sure to pique readers' interests in more specialized books on theoretical approaches, individual international institutions, and nongovernmental actors. …