Perspectives on International Relations: Power, Institutions, and Ideas: 2nd Edition: By Henry R. Nau, George Washington University

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Global Governance

Study

Chapter 16 explores the different ways in which governance has expanded beyond the nation-state level and looks ahead to the future of international relations. With the progress that has already occurred in terms of global governance, is it possible that international anarchy can be overcome? Liberal perspectives are particularly inclined to think so. They point to the steady advance in the functions that intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) serve. For realist perspectives, on the other hand, IGOs represent merely one more arena in which the struggle for power must occur. And identity perspectives (depending on the variant) argue that the value of global governance depends on the whether the goals of tolerance, secularism, and democracy are achieved. Critical theory perspectives remain skeptical of global governance; they argue that it is an extension of elite hegemony and domination, and should be resisted.

Study Questions

  1. Why are critical theory perspectives skeptical of IGOs?


  2. What are the functions of the ICC and the ICJ? What are their differences and similarities?


  3. What is neofunctionalism? How does it apply to the EU? How is it different than functionalism?