International Organizations (IOs) were designed to provide global public goods, among which security for all, trade for the richest, and development for the poorest. Their very existence is now a promise of success for the cooperative turn in international relations. Although the IO network was once created by established powers, rising states can hardly resist the massive production of norms that their governments can be reluctant to respect without being able to discard them. IOs are omnipresent, and exert great influence on the world as we know it. However, rulers and ruled are hardly aware of such compelling and snowballing processes. Yves Schemeil uses his in-depth knowledge of IOs to analyze their current impact on international relations, on world politics, and their potential of shaping the global future.

IntroductionThe Institutional PuzzleMethodological SolutionsThe Network Growth ModelThe Spirit of the BookPart 1. What IOs Are and What We Think We Know1 The Conventional Wisdom, First Cut: The Classics1.1 A Taste for Typologies1.2 An Exclusive Focus on IOs/States Relations1.3 To Sum Up2 The Conventional Wisdom, Second Cut: The Mavericks2.1 Rejuvenating Old Paradigms2.2 Bringing in New Paradigms2.3 Discovering Organizational Mechanics2.4 To Sum UpPart 2. IOs as Complex Organizations3 Homogenization and Hegemonization3.1 Diversity3.2 Similarity3.3 To Sum Up4 Centralization and Decentralization4.1 Headquarters Matter! On the Importance of Being Central4.2 Bottom Up, Top Down, or What?4.3 To Sum Up10Part 3. A Predictive Model of IOs' Behaviour5 Explanatory Factors and Drivers of Change5.1 External and Internal Change5.2 Leadership, Management Styles, and Innovation5.3 Organic and Cognitive Organizations5.4 To Sum Up6 The Trade-off Between Resilience and Performance6.1 What Are the Relevant Indicators of Success?6.2 Towards New Standards of Performance6.3 To Sum Up7 Genesis and Expansion7.1 Genesis: How It All Started7.2 Drivers of Expansion7.3 To Sum UpPart 4. From Competition to Cooperation8 Too Big to Fail: From Expansion to Dissolution8.1 Mandate Overlap8.2 Survival Strategies8.3 Death at the Crossroads8.4 To Sum Up9 Coordination, Collaboration, and Cooperation: HowDifferent Really?9.1 Partnership Models9.2 All in the Family: The Rush Towards Coordination9.3 Accommodating Strangers: Occasional Collaboration9.4 Pooling Resources: Acceptance of Full Cooperation9.5 To Sum Up10 The Taming of the Shrew: Avoiding the Other10.1 A Shakespearian Dilemma: To Coordinate or not to BeCoordinated?10.2 The Great Fear: Side-lined, Shut Down, or Merged?10.3 To Sum Up.11 From Clusters to Networks11.1 How Clusters Give Birth to Complex Organized Systems11.2 Meta-organizations and their Limits11.3 From Meta-organizations to Networks11.4 To Sum Up12 The Nature of Organizational Networks12.1 How Much "Publicness" in International Organizations?12.2 Going Hybrid12.3 Interorganizational Networks12.4 To Sum Up13 The Properties of Organizational Networks13.1 From Transaction Costs to Coordination Costs13.2 The Threshold Effect and the End of Politics13.3 To Sum UpPart 5. How Likely is any Institutionalization of the World?14 A Changing Structure14.1 A Pivot Towards the Global South14.2 The Coining of Fair Norms14.3 The End of Securitization14.4 To Sum Up15 Is Institutionalized Globalization Inevitable?15.1 A Likely Future: Plurilateralism Rules the World15.2 Unlikely Alternatives: New Despotism andNew Medievalism15.3 Likable Options: Constitutional Adaptation15.4 To Sum Up.16 Towards a World Government16.1 Is Hobbes' Constant as Limiting as Light Speed?16.2 Making Bull's Dream Come True?16.3 Is Wendt's Recognition Process Working?16.4 Neither Micro nor Macro: A Mesocosmic World16.5 Wrap up: From Warfare to Welfare and Back17 Conclusion. What We Have Achieved and What Remains toBe Done17.1 Do Limitations Weaken the Explanatory Power of theNetwork Growth Model?17.2 Do Success Stories Suffice to Explain InternationalOrganization and Organizations?17.3 Beyond Research: Will this Book Be Helpful?AfterwordAppendixesAppendix 1: Primary sourcesAppendix 2: MethodologyAppendix 3: List of interviewsReference listSubject Index