Scholars have studied international organizations (IOs) in many disciplines, thus generating important theoretical developments. Yet a proper assessment and a broad discussion of the methods used to research these organizations are lacking. Which methods are used and how? Do we need a specific methodology applied to the case of IOs? What are the concrete methodological challenges when we do research on IOs?

To explore these questions, Fanny Badache, Leah Kimber and Lucile Maertens have edited a book entitled International Organizations and Research Methods: An Introduction published with the University of Michigan Press. The book provides a large inventory of both well-established and more recent methods used in the social sciences and humanities and their applications in IO research. All contributions review a specific method (or combination of methods) in few pages, pointing out the advantages and limits as well as providing concrete tips. As a daily companion for academics and students alike, the book is a practical guide that can be used all along the research process from the definition of the question to data collection and generation, as well as during the analysis and writing phase. 

This book launch will gather the editors, contributors, IO scholars and practitioners to discuss the book’s contributions and impact. It offers a space for scholars and students embedded in different academic traditions to reflect on methodological choices and the way they impact knowledge production on IOs. It is open to anyone interested in IOs, research methods and research on global governance more broadly.

ROUNDTABLE PANEL

• Fanny Badache, Postdoctoral Researcher, Geneva Graduate Institute

• Leah R. Kimber, Postdoctoral Associate, University of Geneva

• Lucile Maertens, Associate Professor in International Relations/Political Science and Co-Director of the Global Governance Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute

• Kari De Pryck, Lecturer at the Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Geneva

• Valérie Gorin, Head of Learning, Geneva Centre of Humanitarian Studies

• Sandra Lavenex, Professor of European and International Politics, University of Geneva

• Annabelle Littoz-Monnet, Professor in International Relations/Political Science, Geneva Graduate Institute

• Francesco Pisano, Director, United Nations Library & Archives Geneva, United Nations Office at Geneva

Chair

Juanita Uribe, Post Doc Researcher at the Global Governance Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute

*The event will be followed by a reception*

This event is co-hosted by the Global Governance Centre, the University of Lausanne and the University of Geneva, and in partnership with the Groupe de recherche sur l’action multilatérale (GRAM) and the Observatoire du multilatéralisme et des organisations internationales.