International Organizations (IOs) were designed to provide global public goods, among which security for all, trade for the richest, and development for the poorest. Their very existence is now a promise of success for the cooperative turn in international relations. Although the IO network was once created by established powers, rising states can hardly resist the massive production of norms that their governments can be reluctant to respect without being able to discard them. IOs are omnipresent, and exert great influence on the world as we know it. However, rulers and ruled are hardly aware of such compelling and snowballing processes. Yves Schemeil uses his in-depth knowledge of IOs to analyze their current impact on international relations, on world politics, and their potential of shaping the global future.
Speaker
Yves Schemeil, Emeritus Professor of Global and Comparative Politics (University of Grenoble and Institut Universitaire de France) has taught in several BA, MA, and PhD programs in France, Switzerland, Japan, the US, and Lebanon. His current research addresses the management of international organizations, between performance and resilience, as well as world reordering, between anarchy and governance. To assess the causes of IOs expansion and networking he lists the drivers of adaptive and collaborative behavior. To identify the explanatory variables shaping the world he compares the various organizational and constitutional designs that may lead to a more institutionalized planet in the long run. His counterintuitive, comparative, and experimental work draws on philosophy, sociology, psychology, and economics.
Discussant
Thomas Gidney, Research Associate, Geneva Graduate Institute
Moderator
Lucile Maertens, Associate Professor in International Relations/Political Science and Co-Director of the Global Governance Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute