Measuring the Efficiency of Regional Institutions in Eurasia

Abstract

The problem of measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of intergovernmental organizations has both theoretical and practical dimensions. The author presents criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the work of international organizations on the basis of parameters proposed by various international organizations, including organizations within the United Nations system. The main question in choosing such criteria is: for whom do these organizations work? Who “consumes” their services—the governments of member states or their societies? The separation of regional organizations from the final consumers of their services gives the latter the impression that they are inefficient or that their work has no effect. Eurasian regional organizations need to devote more attention to applying the instruments of public diplomacy, which can be used in the process of evaluating their effectiveness or as a means of improving their effectiveness. The author cites various examples of ways in which the effectiveness of the work of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Eurasian Economic Union could be investigated through the prism of public diplomacy.