In this book, Miles Kahler examines both global and regional institutions and their importance in the world economy. Kahler explains the variation in these institutions and assesses the role they play in sustaining economic cooperation among nations.

In this thoughtful & meticulously researched book, Professor Blum makes a major contribution to the exposure of an important aspect of UN practice. He adds to his academic analysis the insight provided by his years as his country's Ambassador at the UN, & provides the reader with a fascinating & well-written argument. The book reflects events & developments that took place prior to the summer of 1990, during the period marked by global confrontation between the two major power blocs of those days. That confrontation found one of its strongest expressions in the United Nations, & was largely responsible for the deterioration of the legal-constitutional climate within the UN. With the end of that confrontation, as a result of the collapse of the former Soviet bloc & the disintegration of the Soviet Union itself, a new climate of parliamentary cooperation within the United Nations has come about. Consequently, there would now appear to exist a real prospect - perhaps for the first time since the establishment of the Organization - for a reconsideration of at least some of the practices that developed over the years within the cold war context, & which constitute a departure from the legal-constitutional requirements laid down by the Charter. It is in this spirit this book is offered to the reader's attention.

While most studies focus on states as principals and international bureaucrats as agents, [the author] demonstrates that many international bureaucrats have mastered the art of insulating themselves from state control.

Comparative regional integration has met with increasing interest over the last twenty years with the emergence or reinforcing of new regional dynamics in the EU, NAFTA, MERCOSUR and ASEAN. This volume systematically and comparatively analyses the reasons for regional integration and stalemate in European, Latin American and Asian regional integration. It examines whether regional integration systems change in crisis periods, or more precisely in periods of economic crises, and why they change in different directions. Based on a neo-institutionalist research framework and rigorously comparative research design, the individual chapters analyse why financial and economic crises lead to more or less integrated systems and which factors lead to these institutional changes. Specifically it addresses institutional change in regional integration schemes, power relations between member states and the institutions in different policy domains, and change in individual or collective citizens’ attitudes towards regional integration. Adopting an actor-centred approach, the book highlights which regional integration schemes are influenced by economic and financial crises and how to explain this. This text will be of key interest to scholars, students and policy specialists in regional integration, European Politics, International Relations, and Latin American and Asian studies.

An examination of the impact of international organisation at regional and global levels

Virtually every important question of public policy today involves an international organization. From trade to intellectual property to health policy and beyond, governments interact with international organizations in almost everything they do. Increasingly, individual citizens are directly affected by the work of international organizations. Aimed at academics, students, practitioners, and lawyers, this book gives a comprehensive overview of the world of international organizations today. It emphasizes both the practical aspects of their organization and operation, and the conceptual issues that arise at the junctures between nation-states and international authority, and between law and politics. While the focus is on inter-governmental organizations, the book also encompasses non-governmental organizations and public policy networks. With essays by the leading scholars and practitioners, the book first considers the main international organizations and the kinds of problems they address. This includes chapters on the organizations that relate to trade, humanitarian aid, peace operations, and more, as well as chapters on the history of international organizations. The book then looks at the constituent parts and internal functioning of international organizations. This addresses the internal management of the organization, and includes chapters on the distribution of decision-making power within the organizations, the structure of their assemblies, the role of Secretaries-General and other heads, budgets and finance, and other elements of complex bureaucracies at the international level. This book is essential reading for scholars, practitioners, and students alike.