Lecture 9

Question 1

Autonomy IGO’s

Answer 1

o Definition= Ability of IGO’s to set own goals and to act in ways that contradict interests and policy preferences of member states
o Not an academic debate
o Is EU an out of control bureaucracy?
o Is exit the only option to achieve control? -> Brexit headlines of newspapers, motto was to regain control back
o Is UN an out of control world government and a threat to national sovereignty?
 Here come the black helicopters
* Idea that UN has a force of black helicopters which it can deploy to overrule sovereignty of member states

Question 2

Realist theory on IGO autonomy

Answer 2

 Waltz, Mearsheimer, Gruber etc etc
 IGO’s have no autonomy from interests and preferences of powerful states
 IGO’s serve interests of powerful states, they do as much or as little as powerful states want them to do
 IGO’s change when distribution of power among states change
 “Powerful states get the UN that they want”

Question 3

Marxist theory on autonomy IGO

Answer 3

 Cammack 2003
 IGO’s have ‘relative autonomy’ from capitalist states
 IGO’s promote capitalism as a system, but do not necessarily follow (monopolistic) preferences of particular capitalist states or corporations
 Cammack’s example; WB and IMF promote global capitalism by supporting debt sustainability and anti-poverty programs that enable capitalism to survive

Question 4

Principal agent theory on autonomy IGO’s 1/3

Answer 4

 Tierney, Nielson, Lake and Hawkins 2006
 IGO’s have limited autonomy from member states
 In order to achieve preferred outcomes, states (principals) delegate a limited amount of decision-making authority to IGO’s (agents) via contracts(amount authority states give IGO’s and give them limits)(can be a mandate)** that empower IGO to act on behalf of states while allowing states to control the IGO**

Question 5

Principal agent theory on autonomy IGO’s 2/3

Answer 5

 Pros and cons of delegating authority to IO’s
 Agency gains; how member states can benefit from delegating authority to IGO’s
* Gains from specialization of functions
* Easier decision making
* Easier resolution of disputes
* Greater credibility of commitments
* Greater policy continuity

Question 6

Principal agent theory on autonomy IGO’s 3/3

Answer 6

 Conflict of interests
* States want IGO’s to be effective and under their control
* IGO’s want to be autonomous

Question 7

Organizational theory on autonomy IGO’s 1/2

Answer 7

 Finnemore and Barnett 1999
 IGO’s have high autonomy
 IGO’s are bureaucracies with independent expertise whose powers and actions often do not fit interests and preferences of states
 IGO’s are not “empty shells or impersonal policy machinery, manipulated by other actors”
 IGO action cannot be explained by state-centric theories (realism, rational design and principal-agent)

Question 8

Organizational theory on autonomy IGO’s 2/2

Answer 8

 Pathological tendencies of IGO’s
 Because of bureaucratic nature, IGO’s tend to produce outcomes that are dysfunctional or undesired from nature from perspective of their member states
 Why?
* Irrationality of rationalization; compartmentalized knowledge -> tunnel vision. Actions are tailored to fit rules and standard operating procedures
* Bureaucratic universalism; the tendency to downplay local variables -> inappropriate policy recommendations
* Cultural contestation; divergent norms within a bureaucracy (ex. Non-interference vs humanitarian action) -> incoherent outputs

Question 9

Obstacles to member state control (principal agent theory)

Answer 9

• Disagreements among member states
• Societal interests support IGO’s
• IGO’s lobby states, seek to change their preferences
• Asymmetries of information

Question 10

How do member state control IGO’s? (principal agent theory)

Answer 10

• Limiting discretion available to IGO
• Monitoring and reporting requirements
• Institutional checks and balances
• Sanctions, especially budget cuts

Question 11

Agency costs; how member states can lose from delegating authority to IGO’s (principal agent theory)

Answer 11

• Shirking; IGO minimizes its effort on behalf of all states
• Slippage; IGO shifts policy away from states’ preferences, toward its own preferences
• Slack; IGO acts in a way that is undesired by the states

Question 12

4 perspectives on IGO autonomy

Answer 12

Realist theory, marxist theory, principal agent theory and organizational theory