The politics of international organizations : views from insiders / edited by Patrick Weller and Xu Yi-chong.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. The World Trade Organization as an institution / Stuart Harbinson -- 1.2. Weak organization, strong institution : comment / John Ravenhill -- 2. Reform at the World Bank / James W. Adams -- 2.1. The World Bank : comment / Christiaan Poortman -- 2.2. The World Bank: plus ça change? : comment / Susan Park -- 3. Governance at work at the International Monetary Fund / Luc Hubloue and Orasa Vongthieres -- 3.1. IMF governance and decision-making processes : comment / Mike Callaghan -- 3.2. The IMF's governance of economic policy knowledge : comment / André Broome and Leonard Seabrooke -- 4. The World Intellectual Property Organization / Naresh Prasad -- 4.1. The World Intellectual Property Organization : comment / Geoffrey Yu -- 4.2. The problems of over-representation and fragmented subject areas in reaching agreement at WIPO : comment / Charles Lawson -- 5. Turbulence and reform at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization / David Hallam -- 5.1. The relevance, competence, and prospects of the Food and Agriculture Organization : comment / Robin Davies -- 6. The World Health Organization : some views from inside / Patrick Weller and Xu Yi-Chong -- 6.1. In reform we trust: the challenge before the World Health Organization : comment / Sara E. Davies and Jeremy R. Youde -- 7. Afterthoughts / Patrick Weller and Xu Yi-Chong.

'International organisations (IOs) often receive a bad press, seen as intrusive, domineering and unresponsive to the needs of the people and countries they are meant to serve. They are also seen as sclerotic bureaucracies, unable to move fast or to solve the intractable problems of the countries that need their assistance. The best way to understand the operation of these international organisations is to bring together those who represent their countries at IOs and those who have been working at IOs at various capacities and then to listen to their experiences. The book will set the scene through a theoretical introduction to ask the questions, and then features chapters on each IO from experts, with comments and additional insights from experienced practitioners or observers, and a conclusion that explicitly draws out the comparative lessons and contrasts the insights of practitioners from those of external observers. It seeks to develop an alternative approach to the analysis of IOs that takes account of all those involved, whether state representatives, IO leaders and members of the secretariat. Providing a well informed, innovative and consistently structured analysis of IOs this work will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, international organizations and global governance.'-- Provided by publisher.

'This book develops an alternative approach to the analysis of IOs that takes account of all those involved, whether state representatives, IO leaders and members of the secretariat'-- Provided by publisher.

Mode of access : World Wide Web.