Higher education in Asian countries and the role of international ...

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3.2 History of International Organization: IGOs
The history of International Organizations (IOs) is not very old. The technological development
in nineteenth century, new means of communication and transportation in the form of telegraph,
steam ships and railroads, further enforced by economic development based on industrial
revolution created and promoted interdependence among states to safeguard mutual interests
through cooperation and association. As a result a new era of cross border cooperation through
international organizations took birth and the first international organization was established in
France; the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine or Commission Centrale pour la
Navigation du Rhin (CCNR) in 1815. It is the oldest existing international organization also. The
CCNR is an intergovernmental organization and its purpose is to guarantee the security for
navigation in the river Rhine that is one of the largest rivers of Europe. The CCNR comprises of
five members: Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland. Though there existed
number of International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs) during nineteenth century
that were engaged in humanitarian, religious, economic, educational, scientific, political, and
other matters, it was rare for INGO to sit at the table next to governments to solve international
issues (Thompson & Snidal, 2000). And it was possible through IGOs only.
During the next fifty years, after the creation of CCNR, only three IGOs appeared on the
horizon: Superior Council of Health (1838-1914), European Commission for Control of the
Danube (1856-1939) and International Telecommunication Union, ITU (1865, now ITU is a
specialized agency of United Nations). According Wallace and Singer (1970), only twenty three
intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) had been established, during the19th century, eleven of
them are active until today. In twentieth century the population of IGOs grew rapidly; in the first
half of the century the population of active IGOs was more than 200 (Wallace & Singer, 1970),
while in the second half an explosion of the IOs was witnessed and their number multiplied; by
1980 they numbered more than 600 (Jacobson, 1984) and in 2009, according to the Year Book of
International Organization, the population of IGOs increased six times: more than 3000 IGOs
and over 64000 international organizations (IOs), which are active in 300 countries and
territories in virtually covers all sectors and fields (UIA, 2010).