Formation/Cours

This course gives students a theoretical framework and a better understanding of the issues at stake in cooperation and multilateralism, and the different approaches and transformations at work in the 21st century.

International organisations are very varied and have responsibility for a wide range of functions (economy, security, humanitarian aid, environment, sport, health, etc.). What they have in common, however, is the collective will of a group of stakeholders to combine their efforts in order, ideally, to maximise the success of their objectives (interests and/or values). For a long time, international organisations were seen as intergovernmental institutions, but their recent development has shown that civil actors are playing a growing role and that they are subject to the interplay of interdependent actions. In this course, we will focus more specifically on how cooperation is institutionalised, how it evolves and what impact and role it plays in international relations. We will examine their historical origins, apparent functions, the international and domestic political forces that impact their operations, and their effectiveness. The course will assess the ability of IOs to deal with central issues to international relations, such as collective security, peacekeeping, the protection of human rights, international criminal justice, development, the regulation of migration or environmental protection.

OUTLINE

I- The emergence of international organisations: a historical and theoretical introduction (3 sessions)

II- Global IOs: Focus on the UN system (2 sessions)

III- Regional IOs (2 sessions)

IV- Other IOs and the evolutions of multilateralism (2 sessions, with 1 Guest speaker)