Outline the mechanisms the IO uses to achieve its objectives.

Description

Course Convenors’ suggested structure (A) Introduction In this section you will need to cover two broad themes: First, why did states decide to create this organisation; and second, what problem(s) is it designed to solve? Introduce your essay by discussing the issue area covered by the international organisation (IO). Why is this issue important to states, and what could they achieve by cooperating? What are the challenges that limit the scope for cooperation in the absence of an IO; in other words, what types of problems is the IO designed to solve and why would states (in theory at least) want to join it? Importantly, in your introduction will look a bit like the work you did in part (b) of the theoretical memo, this time with your second IO. (B) Theoretical analysis In this section you will need to outline the mechanisms the IO uses to achieve its objectives. To do this, specify the formal objectives of the IO and then proceed to describe what the IO actually does in practice. The next part is critical: characterise these activities theoretically; in other words, through what mechanisms does the IO help states cooperate and work together? This discussion will look a bit like the work you did in part (c) of the theoretical memo, this time with your second IO. However, this section should be longer and more sophisticated than the prior memo – consider all four mechanisms outlined by NLI and whether and how they may operate in practice. (C) Empirical assessment In this section you will need to evaluate how successful the organisation has been at achieving its objectives, and why? The “why” is all-important here. Try to explain the track record of the IO’s success (or failure), and use this analysis to make an argument about the empirical validity of the neoliberal institutionalist approach to international organisations. How good is NLI theory at explaining what we actually observe? The content of this section will obviously be brand new research. (D) Critiques and concluding analysis In this final section, choose either realism or constructivism (but not both) as a competing theoretical perspective, and ask, what are the main criticisms that can be made by the competing theory against your neoliberal institutionalist explanation of the IO provided above? Specifically, are there any theoretical gaps or empirical anomalies not fully resolved by neoliberal institutionalism in your analysis? Does neoliberal institutionalism help counter these criticisms effectively? Why? If not, why not? Finally, what is your conclusion about the superiority of neoliberal institutionalism as the dominant approach to international organisations? Conclude your argument by discussing the prospects for the IO’s future success. The content of this section will obviously be brand new research.