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This article examines the conditions under which the policy positions of an international organization correspond to the positions of relevant national actors. The commission of the European Union (EU) is often portrayed as an autonomous supranational actor, insulated from national interests. Recent analyses question this view, arguing that the commission is an agent in a principal-agent relationship with member states. The author formulates hypotheses on the conditions under which commissioners' nationalities affect the relative level of agreement between the commission and different member states' positions. The hypotheses are tested with more than 2,000 observations relating to 70 controversial proposals for legislation introduced by the commission from 1996 to 2000. In line with one of the hypotheses, under qualified majority voting in the council, there is relatively high agreement between the commission's positions and the positions of the home member states of the commissioners primarily responsible for drafting the legislative proposals. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2007.]

"Key Actors in the Management of Crises: International and Regional Organizations" published on by Oxford University Press.

In this paper, the implicit and explicit conceptualizations of international organizations found in the three major theories of international relations are outlined and compared. It turns out that in a neorealist framework, international organizations can be explained; however, they exhibit no autonomy and cannot therefore be conceptualized as a corporate actor. Principally, the same applies to rational choice institutionalism, although limited autonomy is conceivable. Both theories are reductionist in the sense that they do not allow a corporate actor beyond the nation-state. International organizations are at best instruments of state interests. Solely social constructivist theories allow a conceptualization of international organizations as partly autonomous corporate actors. The reason for this conceptual openness lies in its ontology that includes ideational factors such as knowledge and ideas. The concept of emergence gives the core explanation for international organization autonomy: identities and interests of states and international organizations constitute each other mutually. This is specified by referring to the generation of new knowledge within international organizations as the key feature which accounts for feedbacks to the member-states of international organizations. This power of international organizations to alter perceptions and identities of their own 'founding fathers' makes them more than state instruments. International organizations thereby gain autonomy, which justifies conceiving of them as high-order corporate actors in international relations.

The study of how ideas and discourse evolve within international organizations is one of the most important frontiers of global social policy theory. Setting forth an ideational approach to understanding their behavior, the article argues that international organizations are more open systems than most realists and structuralists believe. Their constantly evolving discourse and ideas can directly impact domestic policy. In order to stress this reality, drawing on the case of pension privatization, the article compares these organizations with ideologically driven domestic think tanks which, as far as pension privatization is concerned, have proved much more rigid in their policy prescriptions than the World Bank and other international organizations traditionally associated with the global pension privatization campaign.

ATTEMPTS TO PRESENT A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS BY WHICH NORWAY CHOOSES TO BECOME INVOLVED IN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS. USES AN EMPIRICAL APPROACH TO THE PROCESS ATTEMPTS TO IDENTIFY THE PARTICIPANTS AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY PARTICIPATE IN THE DECISION-MAKING 'PROCESS. THE AUTHOR MAKES THE ASUMPTION THAT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF NORWAY'S FOREIGN POLICY.

In order to analyze the influence of sub-national actors on international organizations, this paper uses a questionnaire to survey the level of participation and influence of local governments. As sub-state actors, local governments have their responsibilities and obligations to influence state behaviour in a variety of ways. Local governments need to do the following: the influence and status of sub-state actors on international organizations, whether local governments are sub-state actors and their influence on state behavior, and the uncertain influence of local governments and states on international organizations. The results show that local actors play a secondary role in influencing international organizations, and that local governments are one of the local actors and have a supervisory and binding role on state behavior. The impact of local government and national uncertainty on international organizations is largely based on the outcome of local government involvement. Therefore, it is the state actors who are able to fulfil the responsibilities of international organizations and are participants in the relevant work of international organizations, in which the influence of local government participation on international organizations is more significant.

This article examines the conditions under which the policy positions of an international organization correspond to the positions of relevant national actors. The commission of the European Union (EU) is often portrayed as an autonomous supranational actor, insulated from national interests. Recent analyses question this view, arguing that the commission is an agent in a principal—agent relationship with member states. The author formulates hypotheses on the conditions under which commissioners' nationalities affect the relative level of agreement between the commission and different member states' positions. The hypotheses are tested with more than 2,000 observations relating to 70 controversial proposals for legislation introduced by the commission from 1996 to 2000. In line with one of the hypotheses, under qualified majority voting in the council, there is relatively high agreement between the commission's positions and the positions of the home member states of the commissioners primarily responsible for drafting the legislative proposals.

How can sustainable peace be achieved? The book identifies potential supranational, state and non-state actors involved in peacebuilding processes. Further - more, it develops strategies to address the problems and dilemmas of international peacebuilding. An important contribution to a highly topical debate.

Hopes for a less conflict-prone world after the end of the Cold War were bitterly disappointed. Instead, the international community is faced with protracted wars and violent conflicts today. In addition, social, economic and cultural insecurities as well as fragile statehood challenge the post-Westphalian environment. As a result, scholars and policy-makers alike are trying to develop viable strategies for sustainable peace. The book contributes to this debate, as it illustrates current research results on the topic and addresses the complex problems and dilemmas that various international peace - building actors are confronted with.

Non-profitorganizations (NPOs) are generally subjected to less stringent regulatory requirementsthan for-profit organizations. As such, NPOs are generally reluctant to sharemore comprehensive information with the various stakeholders and may notrecognize the need for accountability. The purpose of this study is to examinethe influence of board composition on the level of accountability for NPOs inMalaysia. Board composition and the level of accountability are obtained fromthe content analysis of annual reports of 234 societies registered withRegistrar of Societies in Malaysia for the financial period 2010. The level ofaccountability (ADI) examined is based on two main components, transparency andcompliance while board composition examined in this study consists of boardsize, board professionalism and board members with political connections.Results of this study provide evidence that the overall level of accountabilityis low. This infers that more comprehensive regulatoryrequirements or at the very least, the existence of best practices with regardsto accountability can be a useful mechanism in enhancing the accountability ofNPOs. In addition, theresults also highlight that an optimum mix of board members mattersin ensuring efficient resource strategy and consequently enhance the level ofaccountability in NPOs. Overall,the findings in this study provide useful information to regulators in theircontinuous efforts to improve accountability in the non-profit sector. This inturn can enhance the credibility and sustainability of the NPOs.