Budgeting is one of the most complex procedures in international organisations, as it requires multi-level and multi-temporal coordination between many actors. In addition, IOs are faced with divergent priorities of their members and demands for zero budget growth leading to increased conflicts over how to distribute limited resources. To better understand how budget conflicts are managed, this paper therefore sets out an analytical framework for the comparative analysis of budgeting in IOs, and in particular of the role(s) of their permanent administrations. The main question is how these administrations, which are at the centre of budget conflicts, cope with scarce budgets, time pressure, and conflicting priorities. We will present first answers comparing different dimensions of budget management – the degree of budget integration, the centralisation of budgeting inside the administration, and the level of politicisation of budget procedures – in the EU, the UN, and the WHO.
