International Organizations in Global Politics - Essay Example

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN GLOBAL POLITICS Contents Contents 2 Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Introduction Although non-governmental organization (NGO) does not have a unanimously accepted definition, it does have a few basic characteristic features. Obviously, it should not be affiliated with, or under the control of any form of government. Other characteristics that differentiate NGOs from the various types of bodies are that it will not be approved as a political party, it will be non-profit organization, it will not be a criminal group, and will exhibit zero violence. These are the terms and conditions required for an organization to be a non-governmental one, in the United Nations, and therefore are generally used to describe an NGO. Outside the United Nations, characteristics of an NGO may vary. For example, an NGO may be closely associated to a political party, may be involved in political protests, or may generate revenue through social or commercial activities. In spite of that, an NGO is never constituted as a political party, a criminal group, a government body, or a violent guerilla agency. (Willetts, 2002); (Baehr; Gordenker, 1986) Background In 1910, around 132 international NGOs formed a coalition under the name, the Union of International Associations. At that time, the NGOs had a variety of names for themselves including international institutes, international unions, and international organizations. Although the initial scheme of the UN charter did not consider any plan to combine forces with private organizations, a grand meeting at the San Francisco conference changed this fact. Thence came into being the United Nations, in 1945. The participation of NGOs in UN greatly increased its role in the social and economic issues around the world, and it also raised the status of the Economic and Social Council to a principal organ. So, in order to differentiate the two types of organizations involved in the UN, specialized agencies was the term set for organizations formed by intergovernmental agreements, while non-governmental organizations was set for private agencies. Both these terms were entered into the official UN vocabulary, but NGO gained a much larger popularity, especially since the 1970's, and so entered into general use. (Willetts, 2002) Growth The number of NGOs increased exponentially after the Second World War, at the national and local level. On the international level, NGOs came into being supporting global issues like human rights, rights of women, and maintenance of the environment. Along with these issues, international NGOs also gained importance in the matter of global politics associated with the UN and its subsidiary organizations. (Karns, 2008); (Ahmed; Potter, 2006) Some of the factors that have contributed to the growth of NGOs worldwide are given below (Karns, 2008); (Baylis; Smith, 2001): Globalization. A rise in popularity of global issues like human rights, environmental protection, etc. An increase in international conferences held under the sponsorship of the United Nations. The boom in technology, which lead to smooth communications between individuals or organizations through facsimile (fax), Internet, and e-mail. An increase in the popularity of democracy, which gave rise to the civil society and provided the opportunity to every person to constitute and manage organizations more freely. General Role NGOs take part in a variety of activities. They provide significant information and consultancies to both governmental and international organizations, for instance agencies affiliated with the UN, regarding current global issues. The data supplied to these organizations is often not available to the local government. (Karns, 2008) NGOs may decide to have a particular policy to tread on, like banning of landmines, acted upon by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and social and medical assistance, performed by agencies like Red Cross, Oxfam, and CARE. They may also be involved in activities concerning human rights and maintenance of the environment, such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Transparency International. (Karns, 2008) NGOs vary significantly in size and manner, but they do have one thing in common; that global problems regarding human rights and environmental protection can be solved by interested individuals working together as a group, through systematization at the grassroots' level, innovative use of the existing data, and shrewd political scheming. Throughout the world, NGOs have played a vital role in solving outstanding problems like slavery, sale of ivory, domestic violence, especially against women, killing of whales for food and oil, racial, political and economic discrimination against the nonwhites in Africa, and the drastic increase in nuclear weapons around the world. (Karns, 2008) NGOs have been quite successful for all these years due to their adeptness and their access to critical information usually unavailable to the government. Therefore, a large number of social and developmental assistances are directed through such agencies. (Karns, 2008) Roles of NGOs in World Politics Overview During the last fifteen years, world politics has undergone drastic changes, neither because of the fall of the Soviet Union nor because of the rising popularity of democracy throughout the world, but due to the increasing number of non-governmental organizations and their deep involvement in world affairs. Previously placed at the backstage, NGOs along with other international organizations have now moved to the center of world politics, and are working to their maximum potential in activities associated with intergovernmental relations and global policymaking. They have played significant roles in political affairs at national and international levels, putting an end to poverty, making known the rights of all human beings, protecting the environment, and providing social and medical assistance to the needy people anywhere in the world. (McGann; Johnstone, 2006) There was a time when international relations was a game played only by states, bureaucrats, and diplomats. But today, when the question of global policymaking arises, a few extra names need definitely be considered, such as CNN, BBC, Al-jazeera, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Al-Qaeda, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. These agencies have been constantly fed by globalization leading to their increased influence over such important international matters. Basically, it was the spread of data, technology, and strength that brought down these organizations to play in the same playground. (McGann; Johnstone, 2006) The question is that how were these NGOs able to gain such power so as to have a strong impact on world politics. The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio is considered to be the turning point, as a total of 17,000 NGOs took part in the UN-sponsored conference. (McGann; Johnstone, 2006) Civil Society Civil Society can be defined as a collection of all organizations, excluding those affiliated with the government, private agencies, and families, which perform on an international level. The factors involved in assisting this society to act across borders include quicker and effortless travel across the world, and the big boom in telecommunications and computer technology, making it a lot easier to acquire the desired information. These advancements, along with global problems like climatic change as a result of greenhouse effect and environmental pollution, and the rapid spread of AIDS, especially in Africa, forced the various social organizations throughout the world to form a coalition and assist in the resolution of these grand issues. (Wild, 2006) Need for Civil Society to be Part of Global Governance There are at least five good reasons for the civil society to be involved in global affairs (Jordan, 2003): Conferring legitimacy on policy decisions: Civil society can legitimize the decisions regarding the international political affairs. The governments involved do have authority but not necessarily the power to legitimize a decision. Increasing the pool of Policy Ideas: Presence of civil society during the proceedings of policy decision-making increases the variety of considerable ideas. Although a contest of ideas may turn out to be messy, it is very helpful in extracting ideas that are suitable for all, as a crowd of a broad range of mentalities is expecting to gain from it. Supporting less powerful Governments: Civil society assists the third world governments, which are at a great disadvantage of being small and poor, by supplying them with relevant information free of any cost, and/or by keeping track of the ongoing meetings and conferences in the big cities, like New York and Washington D.C, for them. Quite a lot of third world governments have built cordial relations or made pacts with NGOs working in these big cities, for example, the South Center, which performs activities concerning trade, environment and numerous other subjects. Countering a lack of Political Will: Civil society helps motivate the minds of the government towards a particular goal. It can constantly remind the government of the risks involved in the matter. Helping countries put Nationalism aside: It is often found that a policy decision good for the nation is bad for its people, or vice versa. For instance, use of an alternate fuel to generate cleaner air is good for the people but may not be so helpful for the country's economy. Policymaking activities of Civil Society Some of the parts that the civil society plays in policy formation are as follows (Jordan, 2003): Campaigns and Public Protest: The civil society frequently makes use of public mobilization to force the policymakers to act on a problem. This activity includes street demonstrations, global letter-writing campaigns, etc. For instance, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines offered a new global agreement to eradicate the use of landmines. And the governments needed to be constantly reminded through public campaigns. Multi-stakeholder dialogues: Organizations of the civil society build conditions for multi-stakeholder dialogues and then take part in them. In this way, the NGOs are not officially involved but have an influence on the officials to form a public policy. Formal Interactions with Multilateral Institutions: Organizations of the civil society are also engaged formally with the departments responsible for making policies. This collaboration is often looked upon as to a show greater openness of these institutions than they actually are. Convincing Local Governments: Civil society organizations also make their aims known to the policymaking body through governments, as they still have a major role in creating global public policies. NGOs and the UN Of all the organizations included in the Civil Society, NGOs have been the most outstanding in their activities. The number of NGOs prominent in global affairs has drastically increased through the 1990's, from 1,083 in 1914 to 13,000 in 1981 and more than 47,000 in 2001. Among these, Oxfam International and Greenpeace are the most popular NGOs, carrying goals of providing a more promising future regarding the issues at hand. (Wild, 2006) NGOs play a significant role in the international arena. They provide extremely important information, have an effective influence on policymaking, assist other international organizations in emergencies, and legitimize the governmental efforts. They are considered to be indispensable partners of the UN, as they provide the most significant input for the UN to fulfill its aims. The UN has entered a phase of extreme importance on the realization that national governments alone can not deal with the rising number of global issues such as environmental protection, elimination of epidemic diseases, wide use of addictive drugs, etc. this has led to the increasingly strong relations of NGOs with the UN. The former Under-Secretary-General Desai himself had stated, "NGOs... no longer simply have a consumer relationship with the United Nations. They have increasingly assumed the role of promoters of new ideas, they have alerted the world community to emerging issues, and they have developed expertise and talent which... have become vital for the work of the United Nations, both at the policy and operational levels." (Rice, 1995) Visible Impacts of the Civil Society There are numerous examples present to demonstrate the positive changes brought about by the civil society throughout these years. One of the most successful collaborative operations of these organizations is the Jubilee 2000 campaign, which forced the governments of well-developed nations to decrease the debt burden faced by some of the poorest third world countries. This campaign persuaded the G8 countries to launch debt relief for the small countries. (Wild, 2006) Moreover, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines successfully struggled to eliminate the use of landmines, and won the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts. While in 1998, the human rights workers enforced the formation of the International Criminal Court. Similarly, the "publish what you pay" campaign tried to force the organizations involved to make the payments done to the developing nations by the global petroleum companies, more open. As a reaction, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) was formed at the World Summit in 2002. (Wild, 2006) The civil society provides a series of other contributions to the global policymaking. It can be used to make the governments and other international organizations act on their committed promises, and to hold them accountable for their negative actions. (Wild, 2006) Conclusion There was a time when international relations and politics were considered to be two completely different schools of thought. Theories like positivism, constructivism, and post-modernism were in question, and issues related to global politics were subjected according to these theories. Today, the international political theory, created through rapid globalization, is the only theory associated with global politics, of which NGOs are a vital part. (Brown; Nardin; Rengger, 2002) Works Cited Book References 1) Ahmed, Shamima & Potter, David M. (2006). NGOs in International Politics. Kumarian Press, Inc. 2) Baehr, Peter R. & Gordenker Leon. (1986). The United Nations: Reality and Ideal. International Affairs. Vol.62, No. 2. pp. 280-281. 3) John Baylis & Steve Smith. The Globalization Of World Politics 4) Chris Brown, Terry Nardin and Nicholas Rengger. International Relations in Political Thought 5) Shamima Ahmed and David M. Potter. NGOs in International Politics. 6) Peter R. Baehr and Leon Gordenker. The United Nations: Reality and Ideal. 7) Baylis, John B. & Smith, Steve. (2001). The Globalization of World Politics. Second Edition, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 8) Brown, Chris; Nardin, Terry & Rengger, Nicholas. (2002). International Relations in Political Thought. Cambridge University Press. [Internet]. Available from: Google Books http://books.google.com.pk/booksid=7cbcJpquM7gC&printsec=frontcover&dq=international+relations+in+political+thought&sig=eXN1fnMCIi_XZOMv1EqOPxMkTTM [Accessed 29 March, 2008] Web Site References 1) Jordan, Lisa. (March 2003). Civil Society's Role in Global Policymaking. [Internet] Available from: Global Policy Forum http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/intro/general/2003/0520role.htm [Accessed 29 March, 2008] 2) Karns, Margaret P. (2008). Nongovernmental Organization. [Internet]. Encyclopedia Britannica. Available from: Encyclopedia Britannica Online http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9395824/nongovernmental-organization [Accessed 29 March, 2008] 3) McGann, James & Johnstone, Mary. (January 2006). The Power Shift and the NGO Credibility Crisis. International Journal for not-for-profit Law. [Internet]. Available from: Global Policy Forum http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/credib/2006/01shift.htm [Accessed 29 March, 2008] 4) Rice, Andrew E. (1995). Relationships between International Nongovernmental Organizations and the United Nations. Transnational Associations. [Internet]. Vol.47, No.5, pp. 254-265. Available from: http://www.uia.org/uiadocs/unngos.htm [Accessed 29 March, 2008] 5) Wild, Leni. (April 2006). Strengthening Global Civil Society. Institute for Public Policy Research. [Internet]. Available from: Global Policy Forum http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/intro/general/2006/04strengthening.pdf [Accessed 29 March, 2008] 6) Willetts, Peter. (4 January 2002). What is a Non-governmental Organization [Internet]. UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems. City University, London. Available from: http://www.staff.city.ac.uk/p.willetts/CS-NTWKS/NGO-ART.HTM [Accessed 28 March, 2008] Read More