International Organization

Catalog description

It is hard to find any domain of international politics untouched by international law, norms, or institutions. Even in what scholars term an "anarchic'' system -- one lacking a central authority over sovereign states -- international politics increasingly occurs in, through, and by international institutions. This advanced research seminar examines the complex politics among states, international organizations, and non governmental actors as they create, enforce, and contest the institutions and rules that govern the international order. Why do states create international institutions? How do these bodies influence state behavior and global outcomes? And through what processes do institutions persist, adapt, stagnate, or die? This course will explore these and other questions through an examination of foundational scholarship in the field of international relations and recent research at the empirical and theoretical frontier of the discipline. The course aims to prepare students to make their own contributions to the field. (GOVT-IR, MHA-EL)