Intergovernmental Organizations Research Articles

Globalization and Nation State

Globalization has introduced new and diverse challenges for the nation state not only in terms of managing rapid economic and cultural integration, but also with respect to governance and decision-making. Globalization, as a concept, contradicts the traditional understanding of the primacy of the nation-state in the world order and introduces a possibility for parallel existence of various non-state actors such as Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and International non-governmental organizations (INGOs). In recent decades, the growth of transnational groups - both political activist groups and dangerous terrorist organizations - also shows the ways in which modern technologies and globalization can challenge and possibly undermine the state’s ability to protect its borders and pursue its goals. In other words, the sovereign state has been continuously challenged, both internally and externally. Therefore, globalization has a serious influence on the concept of sovereignty, which is a basic element upon which the existence of the nation-state depends. The present paper examines how globalization has impacted nation states on various fronts.

Gendered expectations and the framing of Afghan women in peacebuilding: a critical discourse analysis

ABSTRACT Despite the invaluable role that women play in the peacebuilding process, statistics still show this as a male-dominated field. Since media narratives have the power to frame reality providing the public with preferred lenses to understand it, this study asks, How do media narratives frame the role of Afghan women in conflict resolution? To address this question, we combine Frame Theory (Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51–58) and Critical Discourse Analysis (van Dijk, T. A. (2015). Critical discourse analysis. In D. Tannen, H. E. Hamilton, & D. Schiffrin (Eds.), The handbook of discourse analysis (pp. 466–485). Wiley Blackwell) to explore media narratives before and after the Taliban came into power in August 2021. The samples include 32 articles published between 2018 and 2022 on different sources ranging from traditional news outlets to magazines, newsrooms, intergovernmental organizations, and think tanks. Findings show that media narratives perpetuate unfair gendered expectations, failing to effectively render the irreplaceable role of women in peacebuilding. Frames confirm the double bind of hegemonic femininity (Schneiker, A. (2021). The UN and women's marginalization in peace negotiations. International Affairs, 97(4), 1165–1182) as women are subject to different expectations – the exception presents them as courageous, yet the norm frames them as being too vulnerable and without a voice.

Global liberalism, emerging illiberalism, and human rights, 1980 to 2018

The international institutions established after 1945 enshrine and expand human rights norms. Recently, the global liberal order has been challenged by a variety of illiberal oppositions. We discuss how the trajectories of global liberalism and illiberal challenges may affect country human rights practices in both direct and diffuse ways. Hybrid panel regression models of human rights scores for 158 countries from 1980 to 2018 evaluate our arguments. We observe direct effects of global liberalism: countries linked to liberal organizations in world society have higher scores on measures of human rights practices. The growth of global liberalism also explains a great deal of within-country variation in human rights practices over time. However, recent illiberal challenges have the opposite effect. Countries linked to illiberal intergovernmental organizations are less respectful of human rights, and the global rise of illiberalism undermines human rights. We conclude with reflections on the importance of the global institutional and normative context for sustaining (and eroding) human rights.

Causes of preventable death among children of female sex worker mothers in low- and middle-income countries: A community knowledge approach investigation.

Female sex workers (FSW) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are disproportionately vulnerable to poor health, social, and economic outcomes. The children of female sex workers (CFSW) experience health risks based on these challenging circumstances and the unique conditions to which they are exposed. Although country child mortality data exist, little is known about the causes of death among CFSW specifically, thereby severely limiting an effective public health response to the needs of this high-risk group of children. The Community Knowledge Approach (CKA) was employed between January and October 2019 to survey a criterion sample of 1280 FSW participants across 24 cities in eight LMIC countries. Participants meeting pre-determined criteria provided detailed reports of deaths among the CFSW within their community of peers. Newborn deaths were gleaned from FSW maternal death reports where the infants also died following birth. Of the 668 child deaths reported, 589 were included in the analysis. Nutritional deficiencies comprised the leading cause of mortality accounting for 20.7% of deaths, followed closely by accidents (20.0%), particularly house fires, overdoses (19.4%), communicable diseases (18.5%), and homicides (9.8%). Other reported causes of death included neonatal conditions, respiratory illnesses, and suicides. The causes of CFSW death in these eight countries are preventable with improved protections. Governments, intergovernmental organisations like the United Nations, nongovernmental stakeholder organisations (e.g. sex worker organisations), and funders can implement targeted policies and programmes to protect CFSW and assist vulnerable FSW who are pregnant and raising children. Further research is needed to identify effective child welfare safeguards for CFSW.

Interests convergence in global human rights politics

Abstract What explains the convergence and divergence of states’ interests related to global human rights? This study examines the dyadic similarity of the language used in the multilateral dialogue focusing on the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). The joint activities of NGOs influence states, and human rights norms are transmitted through IGOs. Using text analysis methods, the similarity between state recommendations during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is systematically quantified. Analyses suggest that a pair of states are more likely to use similar language in UPR recommendations as the number of joint activities of NGOs, shared memberships in IGOs, and shared experience in the UNHRC increases. The effects are robust even after controlling for different types of political relationships between states.

The water flow diagram

IntroductionThe Water Flow Diagram (WFD) is a novel advocacy and communication tool that presents urban water supply and management in a simple visualization. Rapid urbanization, growing populations, and the climate crisis increase the pressure on water resources, particularly in urbanized areas. The WFD aims to foster a dialogue around conflict of interests and opportunities among different stakeholders, and trigger actions toward more sustainable urban water management (UWM), as well as a water secure future.MethodThe WFD is produced from data on water abstraction, water use of different sectors, water treatment, water recycling and contamination risks. The data were obtained from government services, wastewater and water utilities, large industries, universities and reports of intergovernmental organizations. If these sources did not have data, reports from NGOs or consultants, comparable contexts, default values or expert judgements were considered. The annual water flows are presented in a Sankey Diagram. An intuitive color code highlights the flows as “problematic” or “appropriate” and points to areas where UWM practices should be improved.Results and conclusionsThe final diagrams are a concise instrument that identifies challenges of UWM in the four application cases presented in this article. Key challenges that became evident included: pollution from agricultural production, the lack of wastewater and sanitation infrastructure, high water losses in the distribution networks, water exports leading to a lack in local supply and sewer overflows during heavy rainfalls. Opportunities identified were the need to: invest in sanitation and wastewater to protect resources, create coordination bodies to align conflict of interests, and/or invest in blue-green infrastructure for rainwater retention. The WFD triggered local actions, such as in-depth discussions between relevant actors, the formation of integrated water use committees and the interest of the national ministry in Senegal to replicate the diagram for other locations. This article presents the methodology, discusses the four case studies and deliberates on the prospective use of the WFD.

Scoping an Integrated Ecosystem Assessment for the southern Benguela: fisheries still biggest risk

Abstract The southern Benguela ecosystem faces complex pressures from anthropogenic activities and climate change, leading to structural and functional changes. To counter ecosystem service losses, intergovernmental marine science organizations propose integrated management. However, predictions to evaluate alternative strategies are challenging due to multifaceted sector interactions affecting ecological components. Scoping phases of Integrated Ecosystem Assessments (IEA), such as the Options for Delivering Ecosystem-Based Marine Management (ODEMM), identify priority sectors and pressures for management using linkage chains and impact risk scores. This study expands a South African-wide ODEMM assessment to investigate dependent sectors in the southern Benguela. Fishing emerged as the primary sector, exhibiting high connectance and impact risk on ecological components. Disaggregation of the fishing sector into sub-sectors and over three 21-year time periods revealed the demersal trawl and mixed species inshore trawl sectors to still have the greatest impact despite recent mitigation efforts, driven by species extraction, bycatch, and ‘incidental loss’. Research gaps, such as the effects of recreational fisheries and underwater noise, were identified and need to be addressed to improve future ecosystem assessments. Additionally, the effects of climate on long-term, ecosystem-scale variability and change need more attention in IEAs and should be incorporated into frameworks such as ODEMM.

Equity and gender mainstreaming in public policy: A scoping review protocol.

Despite growing attention paid to health equity and efforts to promote gender mainstreaming-a global strategy to promote gender equality-how policymakers have 'institutionalized' this in their work is less clear. Therefore, this planned scoping review seeks to search the peer-reviewed and grey literature to compile evidence on the ways in which policymakers have routinely or systematically considered equity and/or gender in their work. A scoping review will be undertaken by drawing on the PRISMA guidelines for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). With the expert guidance of a research librarian, Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, PAIS Index, and Scopus databases will be searched, in addition to custom Google searches of government documents. The search will be conducted from 1995 and onwards, as there were no hits prior to this date that included the term "gender mainstream*" in these databases. The inclusion criterion is that: (i) texts must provide information on how equity and/or gender has been considered by government officials in the development of public policy in a routine or systematic manner (e.g., descriptive, empirical); (ii) both texts produced by government or not (e.g., commentary about government action) will be included; (iii) there are no restrictions on study design or article type (i.e., commentaries, reports, and other documents, would all be included); and (iv) texts must be published in English due to resource constraints. However, texts that discuss the work of nongovernmental or intergovernmental organizations will be excluded. Data will be charted by: bibliographic information, including the authors, year, and article title; country the text discussed; and a brief summary on the approach taken. This protocol was developed to improve rigour in the study design and to promote transparency by sharing our methods with the broader research community. This protocol will support a scoping review of the ways in which policymakers have routinely or systematically considered equity and/or gender in their work. We will generate findings to inform government efforts to initiate, sustain, and improve gender and equity mainstreaming approaches in policymaking.

Mediated crises and strategic crisis communication of third sector organizations: a content analysis of crisis reporting in six countries

PurposeThis study aims to contribute to strategic crisis communication research by exploring international media representations of third sector crises and crisis response; expanding the range of crisis types beyond transgressions; and developing a framework that integrates framing and crisis communication theory.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative content analysis was applied to identify patterns in crisis reporting of 18 news media outlets in Canada, Germany, India, Switzerland, UK and US. Using an inductive framing approach, crisis coverage of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) between 2015 and 2018 was analyzed across a wide range of crises, including but not limited to prominent cases such as Oxfam, Kids Company, or the Islamic Research Foundation.FindingsThe news media in six countries report more internal crises in the third sector than external crises. The most frequent crisis types were fraud and corruption, sexual violence/personal exploitation and attacks on organizations. Exploratory factor analysis revealed three components of crisis response strategies quoted in the media, conditional rebuild, defensive and justified denial strategies. Causal attributions and conditional rebuild strategies significantly influenced media evaluations of organizational crisis response. Three frames of third sector crises were detected; the critique, the damage and the victim frame. These frames emphasize different crisis types, causes, crisis response strategies and evaluations of crisis response.Originality/valueThe study reveals the particularities of crises and crisis communication in the third sector and identifies factors that influence mediated portrayals of crises and crisis response strategies of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) from an international comparative perspective. The findings have relevant implications for crisis communication theory and practice.

The Century-Long Struggle for the Leadership of World Sport

In less than a century, sport has evolved from a hobby for a few European gentlemen into a global phenomenon involving people from all walks of life and of all ages. Media coverage of large sport events, especially the modern Olympic Games, has contributed greatly to increasing and widening sport’s appeal and turning it into an activity enjoyed by countless millions of people of both sexes, whether grassroots participants, spectators or elite athletes. Three types of organizations have sought to lead world sport: (1) The International Olympic Committee, which awards Olympic Games to host cities; (2) international sport federations, each of which establishes universal rules for its sport and recognizes national federations; and (3) certain governments and intergovernmental organizations. The century-long geopolitical struggle for the leadership of world sport can be divided into five periods. Although the International Olympic Committee currently holds the upper hand, the emergence of new actors may threaten its dominant position.

US wildlife trade data lack quality control necessary for accurate scientific interpretation and policy application

AbstractInternational wildlife trade data are frequently used by government agencies, conservation organizations, and scientific researchers to study and protect species from overexploitation and prevent the spread of invasive species and introduction of zoonotic pathogens. Inaccurate data can lead to mistaken conclusions by researchers, the development of unsuccessful remedial conservation actions, and provide government officials with incorrect views of detrimental trade. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) maintains the world's most comprehensive national dataset of legal and illegal international wildlife trade recorded by individual shipments and species in its Law Enforcement Management Information System (LEMIS). Although the importance of LEMIS data is not to be understated, the errors and inconsistencies contained therein have not previously been adequately recognized or studied. Based on firsthand experiences with the creation and application of LEMIS data, this manuscript describes a variety of errors, biases, omissions, and an overall lack of data quality assurance. An independent audit of the LEMIS wildlife trade database and the service's policies, procedures, and protocols for managing this system is needed. Additional recommendations are also offered to develop better management standards and bring greater resources for managing LEMIS, asking the nongovernmental organization and intergovernmental organization user communities to play a role.

A reproducible ensemble machine learning approach to forecast dengue outbreaks

Dengue fever, a prevalent and rapidly spreading arboviral disease, poses substantial public health and economic challenges in tropical and sub-tropical regions worldwide. Predicting infectious disease outbreaks on a countrywide scale is complex due to spatiotemporal variations in dengue incidence across administrative areas. To address this, we propose a machine learning ensemble model for forecasting the dengue incidence rate (DIR) in Brazil, with a focus on the population under 19 years old. The model integrates spatial and temporal information, providing one-month-ahead DIR estimates at the state level. Comparative analyses with a dummy model and ablation studies demonstrate the ensemble model’s qualitative and quantitative efficacy across the 27 Brazilian Federal Units. Furthermore, we showcase the transferability of this approach to Peru, another Latin American country with differing epidemiological characteristics. This timely forecast system can aid local governments in implementing targeted control measures. The study advances climate services for health by identifying factors triggering dengue outbreaks in Brazil and Peru, emphasizing collaborative efforts with intergovernmental organizations and public health institutions. The innovation lies not only in the algorithms themselves but in their application to a domain marked by data scarcity and operational scalability challenges. We bridge the gap by integrating well-curated ground data with advanced analytical methods, addressing a significant deficiency in current practices. The successful transfer of the model to Peru and its consistent performance during the 2019 outbreak in Brazil showcase its scalability and practical application. While acknowledging limitations in handling extreme values, especially in regions with low DIR, our approach excels where accurate predictions are critical. The study not only contributes to advancing DIR forecasting but also represents a paradigm shift in integrating advanced analytics into public health operational frameworks. This work, driven by a collaborative spirit involving intergovernmental organizations and public health institutions, sets a precedent for interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing global health challenges. It not only enhances our understanding of factors triggering dengue outbreaks but also serves as a template for the effective implementation of advanced analytical methods in public health.

Yves SCHEMEIL, The Making of the World: How International Organizations Shape Our Future (Opladen, Verlag Barbara Budrich, 2023)

The role of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the global system is a contentious issue. States delegate some responsibilities and in certain instances accept growing autonomy. Coalitions address complex environments, wasteful overlaps and jurisdictional trespass, turning them into productive divisions of labor. Therefore, Yves Schemeil aims to explain in his new book, The Making of the World: How International Organizations Shape Our Future, the expansion, collaboration, competition, and death of international organizations (IO), offering “a concise and topical discussion” to distinguish the book from the IOs literature.

Governance by numbers 2.0: policy brokerage as an instrument of global governance in the era of information overload

ABSTRACT The article investigates how and when the two first movers in knowledge-based regulation – the OECD and the World Bank – developed policy brokerage as an instrument of global governance in the education sector. We also examine how their target clientele – national governments – responds to this instrument. Given the surplus of research evidence in today's digital economy, intergovernmental organisations have the challenge of standing out as trusted and credible knowledge brokers in a crowded space. The authors make the case for a comparative research programme – tentatively labeled ‘Governance by Numbers 2.0’ – that is informed by a multidisciplinary (history, political science, interdisciplinary policy studies) interpretive framework and that advances a transnational, relational method of inquiry which draws attention to the global/national nexus.

International Legal Framework for the Protection of Cultural Objects

Introduction. For thousands of years, historical and cultural monuments have been damaged or destroyed as a result of armed conflicts and acts of vandalism. Given the role that these sites play in the development of humanity, international humanitarian law (IHL) establishes the basis for the international legal protection of religious, cultural and scientific sites. At the beginning of the 20th century. the situation was complicated not only by the absence of a universal international treaty that would be devoted exclusively to the international legal protection of these objects, but also by an international intergovernmental organization that would develop appropriate norms and standards. These problems led to the creation in 1945 of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Thanks to the activities of this specialized UN agency, as well as the activities of a number of non-governmental international organizations, it was possible to form an international legal regime for the protection of cultural property both in peacetime and during armed conflicts.As a result of changes in the strategy of conducting armed conflicts, as well as improving the methods and means of conducting them in the 21st century, cultural objects are in great danger. In this regard, the analysis of current international legal norms and principles for the protection of cultural property in the context of international humanitarian law is of particular relevance.Materials and methods. As for the materials, we were talking about legal acts, Russian and cultural information based on the cultural traditions of international law. methodological basis based on scientific methods of lysis and synthesis, comparative legal method, scientific method of delivery.Research results. The evolution of the system of international legal protection of cultural property and world cultural heritage allows us to draw a conclusion about the comprehensive level of such protection, applied both in peacetime and in armed conflicts. The international legal responsibilities of states in this area are associated, first of all, with assessing the significance of cultural objects and giving them the appropriate legal status through national legislation or inclusion in the registers of international organizations.Discussion and conclusion. At the same time, the activities of states and international organizations related to the special designation of cultural objects in armed conflicts, the training of civilian and military personnel, and taking into account the specifics of the placement and maintenance of such objects are of particular importance. The general body of knowledge and skills for the protection and protection of cultural objects is formed by UNESCO as a specialized agency of the United Nations, which strives to preserve the universal heritage as the highest achievements of art and science.

(In)sufficient institutionalization? Norm articulation in the World Health Organization and infectious disease prevalence across the global South

Recent work in the neoinstitutional tradition has sought to clarify the mechanisms by which global norms diffuse across the world system. Prior work highlights the role of organizational linkages between world society and the nation-state—especially international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs)—in the process of spreading policies, practices, and ideas cross-nationally. Although prior empirical studies ask whether diffusion occurs, this study examines the conditions under which such effects are stronger versus weak (or absent). To do so, we use the strategic case of norm articulation in the World Health Organization (WHO) and its relationship to infectious disease prevalence across the global South. Our research design leverages variation in the extent to which issues garner attention within this intergovernmental organization. We begin by identifying four infectious diseases with variable degrees of prominence on the WHO agenda. In the descending order, they are HIV, tuberculosis, leprosy, and Guinea-worm disease. We then estimate the impact of organizational links to world society (operationalized as health INGOs) on disease prevalence and compare results across each of the four outcomes. Results support the neoinstitutional argument that diffusion is conditional on the extent to which norms are articulated in the prevailing global institution. We find that, for the most part, world society links are associated with lower rates of infectious disease. However, the size and significance of the relationship depends on a disease’s relative priority on the WHO agenda. In the absence of sufficient norm articulation, results show that integration into world society is unrelated to infectious disease prevalence.

To reform or to replace? Succession as a mechanism of institutional change in intergovernmental organisations

Given high costs of negotiating formal international institutions, states are widely expected to adapt, reform, and repurpose existing institutions rather than create new ones. Nevertheless, during the past century some 60 intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) have been directly replaced by a legal successor. Why do states sometimes dissolve an existing IGO only to replace it with a new one that takes over the incumbent organization’s mandate and assets—a practice known as institutional succession? We offer a theory of institutional succession and illustrate with examples. Against the dominant belief that creating new IGOs is a choice of last resort, we argue that reform and succession are equally expedient tools for achieving institutional change but address different negotiating hurdles. By creating a new institution (as opposed to amending an existing one) succession bypasses veto players that may stunt reform. However, succession suffers from potential diseconomies-of-scale (since not every member of an existing IGO may join the successor) which reform does not. Depending on which negotiation hurdle prevails, reform will be preferred to succession or vice versa. Our analysis advances existing understandings of institutional contestation and change within the life cycle of an international organisation.

The Black Sea Regional Security and Geostrategy Balance: A “New Cold War” Scenario

The Black Sea region is increasingly becoming a priority on the international agenda. In fact, a regional approach is emerging as actors understand that common problems need to be addressed jointly. Nevertheless, cooperation efforts are hampered by a number of factors, such as uneven economic and political development within and among countries, nationalist forces, and longstanding animosities between regional players. In this context, it is imperative to foster sound policies aimed at strengthening dialogue and cooperation so as to contain and ultimately resolve conflicts with peaceful means. However, there is little policy-oriented research on the challenges and opportunities for cooperation in the Black Sea region. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of terrorism and its dangers towards the Black Sea region. The work also describes the significance of international terrorism and its general definitions. Besides, the result and findings are based on theoretical studies and assumptions and the result of the analysis of the “Case Study” of the Black Sea region. Case study examines how the Black Sea region influences the spread of terrorism and what threats it poses for this region. Furthermore, the aspects of what makes the region important on international arena are analyzed and the existent and potential security issues are examined, as well as strategic importance of the region for the EU and NATO is analyzed even from academic framework – “Securitization” theory (Buzan, Wæver, De Wilde, 1998). The theory is based on security studies conceptual background and the background spectrum includes: the Copenhagen School and Critical security studies as the type (Ondrejcsak, 2014). Moreover, the Black Sea regional security and geopolitics are to be reviewed and scrutinized in several modalities in aegis of the Securitization theory, like military and economic sectors. The hypothesis provides provision that the Black Sea regional security has already became indispensable part of the contemporary international security system and determines tendency in geostrategic balance at global level. In addition to that the Black Sea Region has to contend with numerous threats of a conventional and non-conventional kind. These hard and soft security problems make the region volatile, insecure and unstable. That is why the region is very vital for inter-governmental organizations, dealing with military security (NATO case) and local actors in case of Georgia’s national security.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Humanitarian Diplomacy in Assisting Refugees During Pandemic

The pandemic that has occurred since the end of 2019 has become a scourge for the global people. The number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), which reached 82 million people, has caused them to become the most vulnerable group during the pandemic. According to the latest UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) report, over 116,000 COVID cases have been reported among the refugees. Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as the world's second-largest inter-governmental organization, should tackle this vulnerability, considering that one of the OIC’s Programme Actions programs is developing the Joint Islamic Humanitarian Action. This study used humanitarian diplomacy as the conceptual framework to explore the extent of diplomacy carried out by OIC in assisting IDPs and refugees during the pandemic. This research applied qualitative methods for data collection and analysis. This research found that, during the pandemic, OIC has carried out actions to address the issue of refugees, such as promoting international norms relating to refugees, initiating international discussions and forums related to the condition of refugees during the pandemic, and collaborating with other international organizations in monitoring refugee assistance during the pandemic. However, most OIC’s roles are limited to organizing or facilitating international forums rather than engaging in the affected area.

Six activities of Observers in the Arctic Council

Abstract There has been great popular and scholarly interest in the activities of non-Arctic actors in the Arctic region, and in the Arctic Council specifically. We find controversy around the activities of Observers in the Council, with some seeing challenges to Arctic states and others seeing positive co-operation. The Arctic Council is the preeminent governance forum for the Arctic region, consisting of the Arctic states (as of 2023, minus Russia) and six Indigenous peoples’ organisations. Non-Arctic states, intergovernmental organisations and non-governmental organisations can be Observers in the institution. Existing literature has examined the significance, interest and powers of these actors; this paper answers the research question, what do Observers actually do in the Arctic Council? To answer this question, this paper presents the results of content analysis of official Arctic Council Observer reviews and reports, which catalogue their activities. The answer may seem obvious: Observers observe. However, Arctic Council Observers do more than this simple function. This paper proposes that all of the activities of Observers fit into a typology of six types of activity. The ultimate finding is that Observers in the Arctic Council work with Arctic states to enhance institutional work around climate change and sustainable development; we see examples of positive co-operation that enhances regional governance. It is another example of peaceful international relations in the Arctic.