The Role of International Organizations in Social Policy makes an important contribution to the research about social policy of nation states that are increasingly integrated both in terms of socio-economic integration and in terms of membership of international organizations. The main strength of the book is to look at ideas and the way they travel between IO and nation states. This book is important for research in the field since it reviews the scattered literature and applies analytical perspectives to selected international organizations and their social policy recommendations. In some regards it explores new grounds and offers analyses, which may be an important contribution to an emerging scientific discussion on the role of international organizations and ideas in national welfare states. We lack analyses of various international organizations and their social policy recommendations. In this regard it is one of the first encompassing contributions in the field of IO and social policy. Klaus Armingeon, University of Berne, Switzerland This book considers the role of international organizations and their promotion of ideas and recommendations in social and health policy. It explores a wide range of organizations, scrutinizing their ideas-based content, their role as policy actors and their impact on national policy. What is the role of international organizations in the making of national social policy ideas and practices? What is the content of ideas advocated by international organizations? In examining these and other questions this book presents a range of international organizations dealing with social and health policies. The authors illustrate how welfare policy is shaped by the interplay between national and international policy-makers, focusing on the role of ideas rather than revisiting the more commonly discussed economic and technological issues associated with internationalization of welfare policy. They explore the content of ideas that international actors such as the EU and the OECD are promoting through recommendations and decrees concerning various systems of social policy. The possible effects of national and supranational welfare discourses on national welfare systems are also discussed. Dealing with both with the normative and cognitive dimensions of social and health policy discourses, this comprehensive book will prove invaluable to policy-makers as well practitioners within international organizations. It will also strongly appeal to scholars of international studies, public policy and social policy.

International Organizations (IOs) are important actors within global social governance. They provide forums for exchange, contention and cooperation about social policies. Our knowledge about the involvement of IOs varies significantly by policy fields, and we know comparatively little about the specific roles of IOs in social policies. This volume enhances and systematizes our understanding of IOs in global social governance. It provides studies on a variety of social policy fields in which different, but also the same, IOs operate. The chapters shed light on IO involvement in a particular social policy field by describing the population of participating IOs; exploring how a particular global social policy field is constituted as a whole, and which dominant IOs set the trends. The contributors also examine the discourse within, and between, these IOs on the respective social policies. As such, this first-of-its kind book contributes to research on social policy and international relations, both in terms of theoretical substantiation and empirical scope.

`This primer on the global politics of social policy ... is essential reading for students as well as others seriously interested in improving the human condition. Nuanced and critical, Deacon′s book offers a much needed and constructive guide to the complex supra-national debates over rights, regulation and redistribution impinging on social welfare all over the world′ - Jomo K.S., United Nations Assistant, Secretary-General for Economic Development `This book is very timely and addresses many issues that are en vogue at the moment. It relates social policy studies to other fields such as global governance and development studies and thus opens up new discussions in the subject area′ - Dr Antje Vetterlein, University of Oxford Global Social Policy and Governance offers an authoritative understanding of the way social policies at national and supra-national level are shaped in the context of globalisation. The book: " evaluates national social policies advanced by international organisations. " examines policies addressing global social redistribution, regulation and rights. " highlights the roles of global actors, including INGOs, consultants, think tanks, task forces and global policy advocacy coalitions. " explores the political obstacles to reforms in global social governance, " outlines the growing importance of global social movements. " presents arguments for more effective global and regional social policies. " is illustrated by case studies, further reading sections and a glossary. Global Social Policy and Governance will be an essential text for students of social policy, development studies and international relations. It will also be invaluable reading for those shaping social policies in international organisations and those in social movements seeking to influence them. Bob Deacon is Professor of International Social Policy at the University of Sheffield.

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.

Rules for the World provides an innovative perspective on the behavior of international organizations and their effects on global politics. Arguing against the conventional wisdom that these bodies are little more than instruments of states, Michael Barnett and Martha Finnemore begin with the fundamental insight that international organizations are bureaucracies that have authority to make rules and so exercise power. At the same time, Barnett and Finnemore maintain, such bureaucracies can become obsessed with their own rules, producing unresponsive, inefficient, and self-defeating outcomes. Authority thus gives international organizations autonomy and allows them to evolve and expand in ways unintended by their creators. Barnett and Finnemore reinterpret three areas of activity that have prompted extensive policy debate: the use of expertise by the IMF to expand its intrusion into national economies; the redefinition of the category "refugees" and decision to repatriate by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; and the UN Secretariat's failure to recommend an intervention during the first weeks of the Rwandan genocide. By providing theoretical foundations for treating these organizations as autonomous actors in their own right, Rules for the World contributes greatly to our understanding of global politics and global governance.

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.

This fascinating book investigates the strategic importance of the production and dissemination of expertise in the activities of the international organizations (IOs) that have come to symbolize the dominance of the Western political and economic order.