International Organization

This comprehensively revised and updated edition offers an introduction to international organizations (IO) theory in the field of IR. It looks at the different ways in which IOs are studied and then applies these different modes to a variety of specific case studies.
The book is written as a primer for students studying global governance and IR theory. It highlights analytic tools available to understand what IOs are designed to do, how they work, what effects they have, and how to design them better. It goes beyond simple questions of whether IOs matter, and looks at the ways in which the different analytical tools developed within the rubric of IO theory are useful for answering different questions about the role of IOs in international politics.

J. Samuel Barkin is a professor in the Department of Conflict Resolution, Human Security, and Global Governance, McCormack Graduate School, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA. He has published widely on the topics of international relations and international organization theory, including The Sovereignty Cartel (2021), International Relations Last Synthesis? (2019), Interpretive Quantification: Methodological Explorations for Critical and Constructive IR (2017), Realist Constructivism: Rethinking International Relations Theory (2010). He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses on both international organization and global governance.