Issue ? 53. November 2015

Intergovernmental Institutions in the Global Political Space: Challenges and Perspectives

Intern, Council of Europe Programme Office in the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russian Federation.
E-mail: sitnikovae2908@gmail.com

New phenomena of the modern world, which accompany globalization processes, primarily the increasing scale and depth of interdependence combined with sharp differences in the levels of socio-economic, political and cultural development among countries have provoked the current imbalance in the world order that previously seemed to be unshakable. In this context, probably the most serious controversy is rooted in the growing need for efficient mechanisms of transnational regulation, on the one hand, and in the observed deadlock in the functioning of the core international governmental organizations representing the carcass of the supra-national regulatory system, on the other.

Regarding this, the present research is aimed at the analysis of the role that intergovernmental institutions might play within the renewed transnational space and, moreover, at defining the main directions of improvements that should be made in order for them to perform this role successfully. To reach the described objective, the article first examines the altering nature of global interactions that has predetermined the inadequacy of traditional structures. Secondly, by reviewing some theoretical concepts dealing with the question of the political actorness of international organizations, the article investigates the unique and in some cases autonomous resources and functions of the latter. Finally, on the basis of these observations, a conclusion is made that existing intergovernmental organizations possess a substantial constructive potential, and the means of its most complete fulfillment under contemporary conditions are then briefly discussed. In particular, the focus is on the changes linked to the external positioning of intergovernmental institutions, namely their transition to a more inclusive partnership format of cooperation that involve various types of state and non-state actors. 

Keywords

International governmental organizations (IGOs), global governance, global networks, political actorness of international organizations, multilateralism, multistakeholderism, global public-private partnership.