| ID | 134720 |
| Title Proper | Man versus state |
| Other Title Information | contested agency in the United Nations |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Schindler, Sebastian |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | The research on international organisations (IOs) continues to be dominated by two distinctions: on the one hand, the distinction between rational choice and social construction; on the other hand, the distinction between IOs as arenas for states and IOs as actors in their own right. In this article I argue that these two distinctions structure not only our theoretical debates on IOs, but also what our theories aspire to explain: political conflicts in IOs. Through an in-depth study of two debates during a conflict in the world food organisations, I show how the distinctions were used to create lines of dispute. I conclude that research that itself establishes the distinctions on a theoretical basis is unable to grasp what conflict in IOs, since it fixes theoretically what is contested politically. What is called for is instead a practice-theoretical approach. |
| `In' analytical Note | Millennium Journal of International Studies Vol.43, No.1; Sep.2014: p.3-23 |
| Journal Source | Millennium: Journal of International Studies 2014-09 43, 1 |
| Standard Number | Conflict |