Govt 768: International Organizations

Prof. Abraham Newman

Wednesdays 2-4:30; Car Barn 302A
Email: [email protected]
Office: Mortara 206
Office hours by appointment

International Organizations

Course Learning Goals

The international system is populated by a diverse set of organizations, bodies, and fora,
which attempt to shape the behavior of actors ranging from states, to firms, to NGOs.
There is considerable disagreement in the field as to what these organizations do, why,
and to what effect. The primary goal of the course, then, is to provide a deep
engagement with a broad range of academic perspectives on international organizations
and how and when they may shape global politics.

The course is structured in two parts. The first offers a set of competing perspectives on
the role of institutions in international affairs – coordination, distribution,
transformation. The second considers a number of theoretical questions, which cut
across these approaches including the relationship between domestic and international
organizations and politics, compliance, and control/delegation to name a few. The
primary learning goal is to prepare PhD students interested in international
organizations to engage with and become active participants in the field.

Course Requirements

The seminar will meet once a week. Sessions will be organized around weekly readings,
to be completed prior to the class under which they are listed. The class is a discussion
seminar. Lectures will be rare and participants should come prepared to engage the
reading.

The main assignment for the class will be a 20-page research proposal, identifying a key
question worth of exploration on the topic. You will need to ask a critical question
related to international organizations, locate the question theoretically, and offer a
framework for answering the question empirically. The research paper will be due the
first day of finals. In addition, you will be responsible for engaging in reading ‘debate’ at
least twice during the semester. For one of your oral presentation dates, you will also
need to submit a 10-15 page review essay. This essay should not simply summarize the
work for the meeting but also map out a research agenda, which might follow from it, as

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well as identify missing elements that deserve further exploration. Students are
expected to attend the relevant research colloquium sessions e.g. GUITARS or CRITICS.

Participation 35%
Research Proposal 40%
Seminar Presentation and Review Essay 25%

NOTE: There are no extensions on any written work without documentation of medical
emergency. Any late work will be downgraded one full grade every day it is late,
beginning immediately after the hour of the stated deadline. Moreover, attendance
counts towards your participation grade. More than two unexcused absences will result
in a half letter grade reduction of your final grade. Laptops are discouraged in the
seminar. You may use e-readers.

All book chapters and all journal article assignments will be on Canvas.

Honor Code: Remember that you have pledged to be honest in any academic endeavor,
and to conduct yourself honorably, as a responsible member of the Georgetown
community, as we live and work together.

Bias Reporting

Georgetown University has a rich tradition of embracing people from a wide spectrum
of faiths, ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds. The University considers acts of hate
and bias unacceptable and antithetical to its commitment to an inclusive and respectful
community.

Through the Bias Reporting System, Georgetown is able to track and review bias-related
incidents. Reporting the incident may lead to an investigation, following which the
University can hold the accused accountable for their acts. For more information see,
https://biasreporting.georgetown.edu/.

Instructional Continuity
In case of a disruption to our weekly meetings due to weather or other causes, I will
send regular updates via e-mail. Additionally, you should check canvas for discussions of
the weeks reading or alternative means to communicate the assigned material.

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Class Schedule and Reading Assignments

Session 1 (Sept 1): Introduction

PART I: Frameworks of Analysis

Session 2 (Sept 8): Institutions and Organizations

Hall and Taylor, 1996, “Political Science and the Three New Institutionalisms,” Political
Studies, 936-57.

Moe, 1991, “Politics and the Theory of Organization,” Journal of Law, Economics, and
Organization.

Martin and Simmons, 1998, “Theories and Empirical Studies of International

Institutions,” International Organization 52(4): 729.

Julia Gray, 2019, “Life, Death, or Zombie? The Vitality of International Economic
Organizations,” International Studies Quarterly

John Mearsheimer, 2019, “Bound to Fail: the Rise and Fall of the Liberal International
Order,” International Security 43(4): 7-50.

Session 3 (Sept 15): Institutions and Coordination

Williamson, 1981, “The Economics of Organization: The Transaction Cost Approach,”

American Journal of Sociology 87(3)

Lisa Martin, 2017, “International Institutions: Weak Commitments and Costly Signals,”
International Theory, 9(3): 353-80

Beth Simmons and Danner, 2010, “Credible Commitments and the International
Criminal Court,” International Organization, 64(2): 225.

Allison Carnegie and Austin Carson, 2018, “The Spotlights Harsh Glare,” International
Organization, 72(3): 627-57.

Joshua Kertzer, Brian Rathbun, and Nina Rathbun 2020. “The Price of Peace: Motivated
Reasoning and Costly Signaling in IR,” International Organization.

Session 4 (Sept 22): Institutions and Distribution

Moe, 2005, “Power and Political Institutions,” Perspectives on Politics, 3(2): 215-33.

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Philip Lipscy and Haillie Lee, 2019, “The IMF as a biased Global Insurance Mechanism,”
International Organization, 73(1): 35-64

Lawrence Broz, Zhiwen Zhang and Gaoyang Wang, 2020, “Explaining Foreign Support for
China’s Global Economic Leadership,” International Organization.

Abraham Newman and Elliot Posner, 2018, Voluntary Disruptions, Chapter 2.

Erik Voeten, 2021, Ideology and International Relations, Chapter 1.

Zoltan Buzas, 2021, “Racism and Antiracism in the Liberal International Order,”
International Organization.

Session 5 (September 29): Institutions and Transformation

March and Olsen, 1983, “The New Institutionalism: Organizational Factors in Political
Life,” December , 734-49

Barnett, M.N. and Finnemore, M., 1999. The politics, power, and pathologies of
international organizations. International organization, 53(4), pp.699-732.

Pouliot, Vincent. "Historical institutionalism meets practice theory: Renewing the

selection process of the United Nations Secretary-General." International Organization
74, no. 4 (2020): 742-772

Lise Howard and Anjali Dayal, 2018, “The Use of Force in UN Peacekeeping,”
International Organization

Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman, 2021, “The Janus Face of the liberal International
Information order,” International Organization.

Session 6 (Oct 6): Revisiting Preferences and Power

Andrew Moravcsik, A., 1997. Taking preferences seriously: A liberal theory of

international politics. International Organization, 51(4), pp.513-553.

Richard Clark and Lindsary Dolan, 2021, “Pleasing the Principal: US Influence in World
Bank Policy Making,” AJPS.

James Bisbee, James Hollyer, Peter Rosendorff and James Vreeland, 2019, “The
Millennium Development Goals and Education,” International Organization,
forthcoming.

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Finnemore, M. 1993. International organizations as teachers of norms: the United
Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and science
policy. International Organization, 47(4), pp.565-597.

Henry Farrell. 2003. “Constructing the International Foundations of E-Commerce – The

EU-US Safe Harbor Arrangement,” International Organization 57(2): 277-306

Bentley Allan, 2017, “Producing the Climate: States, Scientists, and the Constitution of
Global Governance Objects,” International Organization 71(1): 131

PART II: Controversies

Session 7 (Oct 13): Organizational Origins and Design

Barbara Koremenos, Charles Lipson, Duncan Snidal, 2001, “The Rational Design of
International Institutions,” International Organization, 55(4): 761-99

Erik Voeten, 2019, Making Sense of the Design of International Institutions,” Annual
Review of Political Science, 22: 147-63

Allee, Todd, and Manfred Elsig, 2019, "Are the contents of international treaties copied-
and-pasted? Evidence from preferential trade agreements." International Studies
Quarterly.

Ranjit Lall, 2017, “Beyond Institutional Design: Explaining the Performance of

International Organizations,” International Organization 71(2): 245

Nik Kalyanpur and Abraham Newman, 2017, “Form over Function in Finance:
International Institutional Design by Bricolage,” Review of International Political
Economy, 24(3):

Erin Graham and Alexandria Serdaru, 2020, “Power, Control, and the Logic of
Substitution in Institutional Design,” International Organization.

Session 8 (Oct 20): Delegation/Control

Grant, Ruth W., and Robert O. Keohane. 2005 "Accountability and abuses of power in
world politics." American political science review 99, no. 1 (2005): 29-43.

Abbott, Kenneth W., and Duncan Snidal. 1998. "Why states act through formal
international organizations." Journal of conflict resolution 42, no. 1: 3-32.

Karen Alter, 2008, “Agents or Trustees? International Courts in their Political Context,”
EJIR. 14(1); 33-63.

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Dan Honig, 2019, “When Reporting Undermines Performance,” International
Organization, 73(1) 171-201.

Tana Johnson, 2020, “Ordinary Patterns in an Extraordinary Crisis,” International

Organization.

Session 9 (Oct 27): Compliance and Enforcement

Jana von Stein, 2013, “Compliance with International Law,” Interdisciplinary

Perspectives on International Law and International Relations: The State of the Art,
Jeffrey L. Dunoff and Mark A. Pollack, eds. (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2013), pp. 591-610

Nathan Jensen and Edmund Malesky, forthcoming, “Nonstate Actors and Compliance
with International Agreements: An Empirical Analysis of the OECD Anti-Bribery
Convention,” International Organization.

Zoltan Buzas, 2018, “Is the good news about law compliance good news about norm
compliance,” International Organization 72(2): 351-85

Martha Finnemore and Stephen Toope, 2001, “Alternatives to Legalization: Richer Views
of law and politics,” International Organization 55(3); 743-58

Tonya Putnam, 2020, “Mingling and Strategic Augmentation of International Legal

Obligations,” International Organization.

Session 10 (Nov 3): Beyond States and Formal IOs

Kleine, Mareike. 2014 "Informal Governance" Journal of European Public Policy 21, no. 2

(2014): 303-314.

Calvin Thrall, 2021, “Public-Private Governance Initiatives and Corporate Responses to

Stakeholder Complaints,” International Organization.

Alexander Cooley. 2019, “Ordering Eurasia,” Security Security 28(3).

Newman, Abraham L. "Building transnational civil liberties: Transgovernmental

entrepreneurs and the European Data Privacy Directive." International Organization 62,
no. 1 (2008): 103-130.

Walter Mattli and Tim Buthe. 2003. “Setting International Standards,” World Politics, 56.

Session 11 (Nov 10): Domestic/International Interactions

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Edward Mansfield, Helen Milner, Jon Pevehouse, 2007, “Vetoing Cooperation: The
Impact of Veto Players on Preferential Trade Arrangements,” BJPS, 37(3); 403-32.

Jon Pevehouse, 2002, “Democracy from the Outside-In? International Organizations and
Democratization,” International Organization 56(3): 515-49.

Jessica Stanton, 2020, “Rebel Groups, International Humanitarian Law, and Civil War
Outcomes in the Post-Cold War Era,” International Organization

Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman, 2019, Chapter 1, Or Privacy and Power.

Sarah Bush and Lauren Prather, 2020, “Foreign Meddling and Mass Attitudes Towards
International Economic Engagement,” International Organization.

Anna Meyerrose 2020. “The Unintended Consequences of Democracy Promotion”

Comparative Political Studies.

Session 12 (Nov 17): Networks

Hafner-Burton, E. M., Kahler, M., & Montgomery, A. H. (2009). Network analysis for
international relations. International organization, 63(3), 559-592.

Stacie Goddard, 2019, “Embedded Revisionism: Networks, Institutions, and Challenges

to World Order,” International Organization

Brandon Kinne and Jonas Bunte, 2020, “Guns or Money? Defense and Bilateral Lending
as Coevolving Networks, BJPS.

Manjeet Pardesi, , “Region, System, and Order: the Mughal Empire in Islamicate Asia,”
Security Studies.

Farrell, Henry, and Abraham Newman, 2019, “Weaponized Interdependence,”

International Security.

Session 13 (Nov 24) – NO CLASS Thanksgiving

Session 14 (December 1) – Regime Complexes

Keohane, Robert O., and David G. Victor. 2011. "The regime complex for climate
change." Perspectives on politics 9, no. 1: 7-23.

Karen Alter, 2021, “From Colonial to Multilateral International Law” ICourts Working
Paper.

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Drezner, Daniel W. 2009. "The power and peril of international regime
complexity." Perspectives on politics 7, no. 1: 65-70.

Tyler Pratt, 2018, “Deference and Hierarchy in International Regime Complexes,”

International Organization 72(3): 561-90.

Niccolò W. Bonifai, Siyao Li, Abraham L. Newman, Qi Zhang, 2021, The Global
Information Regime Multiplex: Distributional Conflict and the Politics of Separation Over
Time