1.1 Do international organizations matter?
Two kinds of international organization: IGOs and INGOs
Two kinds of international organization exist: inter-governmental and non-governmental
ones. This book discusses both, because their histories, as was found, are intertwined
more closely and from an earlier date than is often assumed. Intergovernmental organizations
(IGOs in international relations theory jargon) have nation-states as their members,
international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) have national NGOs. Whereas IGOs
are established and governed by governments, INGOs with public goals are set up by
citizens, who through these private organizations are politically active at both the national
and the international level. IGOs and INGOs have three characteristics in common: they
are based on a covenant (a text drafted by the founders which defines the objectives and
the organization’s design), a permanent secretariat performing ongoing tasks and (in the
case of IGOs) three or more member states, or (in the case of INGOs) member NGOs
from three or more states.
Varying interest in international organizations
The question of whether international organizations matter in international politics, in
particular compared with nation-states, has been a topic of dispute. The dominant realist
school in international relations theory regards nation-states as the main players and
international organizations as barely relevant, INGOs even less so than IGOs (see Figure
1.1 for the various schools in this field). Historians using a similar realist premise have
been mainly interested in states and only just, or not at all, in cooperation within IGOs
or the resulting roles of IGOs. They regard IGOs as forums where governments representing
states meet. As a result, very few overviews of international organizations are available,
whether or not inspired by political science, or they are organizational dictionaries and