210047 PS BAK7: Introduction to International Organizations (2024W)

This course is designed to immerse students in the fascinating world of international organizations (IOs). This course provides an essential foundation for comprehending the roles, structures, and impacts of key global institutions that shape our world today. It explores the international system where intergovernmental- (IGOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) intersect and interact within shared domains. In an increasingly interconnected world, IOs such as the United Nations and its various agencies, as well as NGOs, together with state actors, play pivotal roles in addressing global challenges and fostering cooperation among nations. Thus, states and other actors deal with different IOs when pursuing their policy objectives. Likewise, IOs and their staff have to constantly cooperate and collaborate while being aware of other organizations, their interests, and potential conflicts arising from cross-cutting activities. Particularly Vienna is a hub for numerous IGOs and NGOs, and can provide a rich first-hand experience. Understanding this reality of international governance, characterized by a proliferation of IOs, motivates this course. It seeks to unravel the complexities of IOs, exploring their origins, mandates, the many functions they perform but also their day-to-day practicalities and politics.

The course is designed with a mixture of theoretical knowledge, practical guest lectures including a visit to the Vienna International Centre (VIC) where many UN agencies are located in Vienna, hands-on practical training and student presentations.

To better understand IOs, the curriculum is structured as follows: Initially, students will explore foundational theories on IOs, their creation, politics, interactions and role in the international system. Then, students will receive practical training how to write and compose a short policy-brief. Students have to pick one organization or topic on which they want to research and write their policy brief on and submit this first assessed task. After this, we will visit the VIC and receive presentations from different UN agencies located in Vienna in which students have the chance to interact with employees of international organizations to further refine their policy-brief and topic of research. With these insights in mind, students are expected to build on the policy brief and create an outline how to research the chosen topic and IO. This research design will then be presented and discussed in class.

This course has a special blend of theoretical learning and real-world insights introducing students to IOs from different angles:
1) a theoretical angle, discussing how and why international organizations are set up and (dis)function,
2) a political angle, exploring the political intricacies behind international organizations,
3) a practical angle, hearing from practitioners working for different UN agencies and NGOs about their day-to-day work and situations, and
4) a research angle, learning how to research international organizations.

At the same time, the course supports students through the process of researching and engaging with IOs by:
develop key skills required in the international governance field, namely
1) the preparation of short policy-briefs,
2) the development of a research exposé,
3) the presentation of it,
4) and the development and writing of a research paper

The course targets bachelor students with interest in international organizations, global policy-making, and international relations.
The method of the course consists of
• short lectures by the lecturer and representatives from different international organizations and NGOs, with an excursion to the VIC
• reading of academic literature,
• preparation of a policy-brief,
• preparation of a research design
• short presentation of research design,
• writing of final seminar paper
• discussions