Inter-Organisational Relations

Abstract

This panel focuses on the interaction of international organizations and develops building blocs for a theory of inter-organizational relations. The panel contributes to the issue of external relations of IOs, as raised in the section. In recent years, inter-organizational relations have become an important topic in politics and academia alike, as the numbers and mandates of international, trans-national, and supranational organizations are growing. Prominent cases of inter-organizational relations include European Union’s support to the African Union mission in Sudan, NATO – United Nations cooperation e.g. for disaster relief in Pakistan, and the strenuous relationship between ESDP and NATO. Although some of the empirical cases have received scholarly attention, theoretically informed approaches to inter-organizational relations are still sparse. Since overlaps in the respective role domains of IOs enhance both the chance for interaction and cooperation, as well as the possibility for rivalry and conflict, additional factors have to be taken into account in order to specify the conditions under which relations become cooperative or conflictive. The quality of inter-organizational relations may depend on such factors as joint interests, reciprocal dependency, power relations and institutional needs for legitimacy. In search of building blocks for a theory of inter-organizational relations, contributions might draw on a wide range of theoretical approaches, including rational institutionalism or the sociology of organizations; consider the role of member states or international executives within IOs; examine formal or informal interaction between dyads or sets of IOs; and look at IOs in diverse policy areas or regions.

Title	Details
Designing inter-organisational Cooperation. The Efficiency-Control Dilemma	View Paper Details
The EU and the OSCE in Conflict Management: The Role of Strategic Culture for Inter-organisational Co-operation	View Paper Details
Applying Organisation Theory to the Study of Interactions among International Organisations: The Case of the UNDP Multi-Donor Trust Fund	View Paper Details
Inter-organisational Cooperation in Europe, Africa and Asia	View Paper Details
Crisis management in Africa: Chances and Pitfalls of Inter-Organisational Cooperation	View Paper Details
A Resource Dependence Model of Peace Operations Coordination	View Paper Details