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

3.4 Theories of International Organizations
38
Though the chemistry of each organization- structure, function and approach- is unique but at the
same time there also exist some similarities when seen through the lenses of aims, actions and
approaches of IGOs. Here many questions arise: how and why are IGOs formed? What forces
lead to the formation of IGOs? Who are the stakeholders? And, to whom IGOs serve? In order
to answer these questions and to understand the philosophy and chemistry of IGOs many theories
have been put forward. Theorists and practitioners have employed a number of conceptions of
international organization to understand the existence and function of IOs (Thompson & Snidal,
2000). As the human knowledge is progressing so the circle of study of international
organization is also expanding. Today there exist different schools of thought, which have
theorized the existence of IGOs in different ways and have attempted to find the answer of above
given questions. There are many schools of thought in the world, some major schools are: realist,
liberal, idealist and institutionalist schools.
3.4.1 Realism
Realism is one of the dominant schools of thought in the study of international organizations,
international relations and international politics. According to this school, the external world is
physical in nature and material objects and their qualities exist independently of their being
perceived (The American Heritage Dictionary). Realist sees the political world as made up of
events, mechanisms and actors where states are self centered and competitive so states give
priority to their national interests and security over ideologies, moral obligations, international
norms and interests of other international actors. Likewise states create, promote and support
international organizations to protect and to maximize their own interests. Though sovereign
states are independent actors in an international system, powerful states have high influence or
control over international politics, likewise international organizations are also under the
influence of big powers, consequently IOs do not has absolute liberty. According to this theory,
rather IOs are “power stage” where states compete to protect and increase their own interests
because states, behave like human being, have an innate desire to dominate. Realists see power
as a pivot of politics and a driving force in all political affairs (McLean & McMillan, 2003). Due
to these limitations realists, as compared to idealists, are less optimistic about the effectiveness of