The Failure of International Institutions

Paper Summary:

This paper, based on John Mearsheimer's article, "The False Promise of International Institutions", argues against the effectiveness of international institutions by attacking three leading institutionalist theories: Liberal institutionalism, collective security and critical theory. The author points out that international institutions have failed up to this point because they do not have in place effective mechanisms for those who break international law and there are double standards in these institutions, which clearly favor the more powerful states. The paper concludes by offering suggestions for a re-organization in international institutions, which will result in more positive conclusions resulting in a more interdependent, cooperative international society.

From the Paper:

"The attack upon liberal institutionalism suggests that this idea does not provide a sound basis for understanding international relations or promoting worldwide stability. This argument is based upon the fact that liberal institutionalism focuses on cooperation and avoids the direct question, which propounds on whether or not international institutions cause peace. Another strong argument against liberal institutionalism besides its narrow definition of "cooperation" is that it virtually ignores the other major obstacle to cooperation: relative-gain concerns. A prime example of this in current institutional history can be gleaned from the arguments made against Turkey's inclusion into the EU, which appear to be much less concerned with Turkey "cheating" the system and much more about relative-gain concerns with regards to this new addition. "EU Business" backs this assertion with forecasting high costs for European taxpayers when "EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz warned last month that Turkey's inclusion could cost 11.3 billion Euros a year in agricultural subsidies" and "EU regional development aid could reach 10 billion Euros a year.""

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