International Organisations

Study Course Description

Course Description Statuss:Approved

Course Description Version:1.00

Study Course Accepted:19.03.2024 14:18:44

Study Course Information
Course Code:		SZF_053		LQF level:		Level 7
Credit Points:		4.00		ECTS:		6.00
Branch of Science:		Politics		Target Audience:		Political Science
Study Course Supervisor
Course Supervisor:		Gunda Reire
Study Course Implementer
Structural Unit:		Faculty of Social Sciences
The Head of Structural Unit:
Contacts:		Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szfrsu[pnkts]lv
Study Course Planning
Full-Time - Semester No.1
Lectures (count)		10	Lecture Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Lectures		20
Classes (count)		13	Class Length (academic hours)		2	Total Contact Hours of Classes		26
Total Contact Hours								46
Study course description
Preliminary Knowledge:
General knowledge of theories and methods of international relations, as well as basic knowledge of post-World War II history.
Objective:
The objective of this study course is to expand knowledge on the role of international organisations and challenges in the contemporary international environment. We will focus on how international organisations institutionalise cooperation at the international level, including their creation, internal dynamics, and their complicated relationship with states in various issues. The course will cover operations of international organisations in a variety of areas such as collective security, trade, finance, promotion of democracy and human rights, regional integration, etc. The UN, WTO, IMF, OSCE and other organisations will be covered. In the context of international organisations, we will analyse values, interests and institutional mechanisms of international actors and use this knowledge to understand deeper international cooperation and conflicts in general.
Topic Layout (Full-Time)
No.	Topic			Type of Implementation		Number	Venue
1	What is and what is not an international organisation? Classification and functions of international organisations			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
2	The roots: Historical origins and development of international organisations. The League of Nations			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
3	We the peoples: United Nations as the centrepiece of global governance			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
4	The Blue Helmet and P5: The role of the United Nations in maintenance of international peace and security			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
5	The role of the Bretton Woods institutions in global economic governance. IMF and the World Bank			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
6	Bound to fail? The rise and fall of the World Trade Organisation			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
7	The world is on fire: Understanding NATO in the 21st century			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
8	OSCE: The example of transformation and high operational reputation			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
9	Human rights, democracy and the rule of law: The Council of Europe			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
10	Global conscience or tool of influence? International NGOs			Lectures		1.00	auditorium
11	UN Sustainable Development Goals: Progress and further perspectives. Literature Discussion. Presentations of Reports			Classes		1.00	auditorium
12	Rwanda Genocide: Factors of United Nations’ failure. Literature Discussion. Presentations of Reports			Classes		1.00	auditorium
13	IMF, Latvia and financial crisis of 2008: Is Latvia’s successful recovery replicable? Literature Discussion. Presentations of Reports			Classes		1.00	auditorium
14	Settling disputes in the World Trade Organisation. Literature Discussion. Presentations of Reports			Classes		1.00	auditorium
15	NATO, China and transatlantic security. Literature Discussion. Presentations of Reports			Classes		2.00	auditorium
16	OSCE response to the crisis in Ukraine. Literature Discussion. Presentations of Reports			Classes		2.00	auditorium
17	The successes and failures of the Council of Europe in protection and promotion of human rights. Literature Discussion. Presentations of Reports			Classes		1.00	auditorium
18	Russia’s influence in regional international organisations. Literature Discussion. Presentations of Reports			Classes		1.00	auditorium
19	Opportunities and limitations of international organisations in 21st century. Literature Discussion. Presentations of Reports			Classes		2.00	auditorium
20	Fundraising in international non-governmental organisations. Literature Discussion. Presentations of Reports. Conclusion of the Course			Classes		1.00	auditorium
Assessment
Unaided Work:
Presentation and report; Final essay. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal.
Assessment Criteria:
Attendance – 10% Activity and preparedness during seminars – 30% Presentation and paper – 40% Final essay – 20%
Final Examination (Full-Time):		Exam (Written)
Final Examination (Part-Time):
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge:		The course will expand knowledge and provide general and comparative analysis of international organisations, their role and challenges they are facing in contemporary international environment. The course will give students an understanding of the theoretical and empirical aspects of the role of international organisations in international politics, including their impact on the practice of international cooperation and conflict, maintenance of international peace and security, international economic relations, etc.
Skills:		During the course, students’ skills to apply theoretical knowledge about international organisations analysing their practical activities will be built by based on case studies of different international organisations.
Competencies:		The aim of the course is to train competence of students to the level they can freely analyse the role of international organisations in the international system, assess the implementation of their functions, as well as evaluate impact of the decision making of international organisations on international relations in the short and long term.
Bibliography
No.	Reference
Required Reading
1	Visa literatūra ir angļu valodā un piemērota gan latviešu, gan angļu plūsmas studentiem
2	- Azerbaijan: Government Repression Tarnishes Chairmanship Council of Europe's Leadership Should Take Action. Human Rights Watch, 2014.
3	- Barnett M., Finnemore M. The Politics, Power, and Pathologies of International Organizations. International Organization 53(4), 1999. pp. 699-732.
4	- Ben-Ari, R. International Nongovernmental Organizations: “Global Conscience” or Powerful Political.
5	- Casier, T. A Classic Dilemma: Russia's Threat to Withdraw from the Council of Europe. Heinrich Böll Stiftung European Union, 2018.
6	- Copelovitch M. Master or Servant? Common Agency and the Political Economy of IMF Lending. International Studies Quarterly 54(1), 2010, pp. 49-77.
7	- Donno D. Who is Punished? Regional Intergovernmental Organizations and the Enforcement of Democratic Norms. International Organization 64(4), 2010, pp. 593-625.
8	- Hyde S. Catch Us if You Can: Election Monitoring and International Norm Diffusion. American Journal of Political Science 55(2), 2011, pp. 356-369.
9	- Kahn R., Tananbaum S. The IMF and the Next Global Crisis. Global Economics Monthly March 2016.
10	- Karns M., Mingst K., Stiles K. International Organizations: The Politics and Processes of Global Governance. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2015, pp. 1-40.
11	- Kelley J. D-Minus Elections: The Politics and Norms of International Election Observation. International Organization 63(4), 2009, pp. 765-787.
12	- Komisar L. Interview with Joseph Stiglitz. 2011. Global Policy Forum
13	- NATO at 70 - The bedrock of European and transatlantic security. Speech by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Körber Global Leaders Dialogue, Berlin, 2019.
14	- Pallas C. L., Urpelainen J. NGO monitoring and the legitimacy of international cooperation: A strategic analysis. Review of International Organizations 7(1), 2012, pp. 1âA¸S32.
15	- Pelc K. Seeking Escape: the Use of Escape Clauses in International Trade Agreements. International Studies Quarterly 53(2), 2009, pp. 349-368.
16	- Schroeder W. NATO at seventy: Filling NATO’s critical defense-capability gaps. Atlantic Council, 2019.
17	- Schwab S. C. After Doha. Foreign Affairs, May/June 2011.
18	- Stone R. The Scope of IMF Conditionality. International Organization 62(4), 2008, pp. 489- 620.
19	- The United Nations System – Organizational Chart.
20	- Tomz M., Goldstein J. L., Rivers D. Do We Really Know That the WTO Increases Trade? Comment. American Economic Review 97(5), 2007, pp.2005-2018.
21	- Werker E., Ahmed F. What Do Non-Governmental Organizations Do? 2007.
Additional Reading
1	- Wallander C. Institutional Assets and Adaptability: NATO after the Cold War. International Organization 54(4), 2000, pp. 705-735.
2	- Rose A. Do We Really Know that the WTO Increases Trade? American Economic Review 94 (1), 2004, pp. 98-114.
3	- Martin, L., Simmons, B. Theories and Empirical Studies of International Institutions. International Organization 52(4), 1998, pp. 729-757.
4	- Langhorne R. New Directions of Multilateral Diplomacy. The Changing Roles of State and Nonstate Actors in Diplomatic Practice. In: Muldoon Jr. J. P., Aviel J. P., Reitano R., Sullivan E. (Eds.) Multilateral Diplomacy and the United Nations Today. Westview Press, 2005, pp. 298-308.
5	- Wallensteen P., Johansson P. Security Council Decisions in Perspective. In: Malone D. M. (Ed.) The UN Security Council. From the Cold War to the 21st Century. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004, pp. 17-33.
6	- Pevehouse J. Democracy from the Outside In? International Organizations and Democratization. International Organization 56(3), 2002, pp. 519-549.
7	- Heiskanen V. The rationality of the use of force and the evolution of international organization. In: Coicaud J. M., Heiskanen V. (Eds.) The Legitimacy of International Organizations. The United Nations University Press, 2001, pp. 155-185.
8	- Sirkku K. H. Multilateralism and economic justice. In: Newman E., Thakur R., Tirman J. (Eds.) Multilateralism Under Challenge? Power, International Order and Structural Change. United Nations University Press, 2006, pp.422-440.
9	- Sullivan E. Multilateral Diplomacy in the Twenty-first Century. In: Muldoon Jr. J. P., Aviel J. P., Reitano R., Sullivan E. (Eds.) Multilateral Diplomacy and the United Nations Today. Westview Press, 2005, pp. 273-284.
10	- Voeten E.The Political Origins of the UN Security Council’s Ability to Legitimize the Use of Force. International Organization 59(3), 2005, pp. 527-557.
11	- Thakur R. Pacific settlement, collective security and international peacekeeping. In: Thakur R. The United Nations, Peace and Security. Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 27-47.
Other Information Sources
1	- TOP 100 NGOs.
2	- The European Convention on Human Rights.
3	- Election Observation Handbook. OSCE/ODHIR, 2010.
4	- Charter of the United Nations.