International Organizations and Their "Outside": Public, Civil Society, and Partners

Abstract

IR scholars increasingly observe how IOs interface with external audiences. Among the actors on the “outside” with whom IOs are concerned are the public, stakeholders and civil society, and external partners. Yet, we have limited understand of how, why, when and to what effect IOs’ engage with these audiences. For example, while we know IOs have established channels of public communication and fora for civil society participation, it remains unclear what the consequences of public communication are or how audiences evaluate civil society inclusion. Even though we know IOs have developed strategies to inform public opinion, we have yet to understand the determinants of the public’s opinion and attitudes toward IOs. Similarly, IOs regularly form partnerships with external actors, but the jury is out on what determines for the formation of external partnerships. This panel aims to better understand how, when, when and to what effect IOs interact with their audiences. Collectively, the papers on this panel take diverse perspectives regarding who is on the “outside” and rely on a variety of methods and empirical cases to shed light on IOs and their audiences.

Title	Details
Explaining Non-State Actor Participation in International Organizations	View Paper Details
Cueing Foreign Elite Consensus or Divisions: The Effect of Unanimity in International Organizations on Public Opinion	View Paper Details
How Do Attitudes Towards International Organizations Develop?	View Paper Details