International Organizations as Orchestrators reveals how IOs leverage their limited authority and resources to increase their effectiveness, power, and autonomy from states. By 'orchestrating' intermediaries - including NGOs - IOs can shape and steer global governance without engaging in hard, direct regulation. This volume is organized around a theoretical model that emphasizes voluntary collaboration and support. An outstanding group of scholars investigate the significance of orchestration across key issue areas, including trade, finance, environment and labor, and in leading organizations, including the GEF, G20, WTO, EU, Kimberley Process, UNEP and ILO. The empirical studies find that orchestration is pervasive. They broadly confirm the theoretical hypotheses while providing important new insights, especially that states often welcome IO orchestration as achieving governance without creating strong institutions. This volume changes our understanding of the relationships among IOs, nonstate actors and states in global governance, using a theoretical framework applicable to domestic governance.

'International Organizations as Orchestrators shows how both intergovernmental organizations and states can use intermediaries, and soft means, to attain their goals when hierarchy, delegation, and collaboration on equal terms are either infeasible or ineffective. Since its ideas are new and its arguments careful, this is one of the most important books on world politics to appear during the last several years.’

Robert O. Keohane - Princeton University, New Jersey

‘This is a terrific book, which explores how international organizations 'orchestrate' the activities of public and private actors, addressing large challenges with small resources. The editors clearly formulate the concept of orchestration, and a stellar group of contributors explores how IOs like the European Union and United Nations agencies orchestrate the action of diverse groups across a broad range of contemporary issues and problems. Essential reading for all students of global governance.’

Mark Pollack - Jean Monnet Chair, Temple University, Philadelphia

‘The editors of this outstanding volume orchestrate a set of well-known scholars from both sides of the Atlantic. Together, they significantly move forward our understanding of global governance by leaving behind the focus on single institutions and focusing instead on the interaction between different types of international actors such as states, international organizations and transnational private actors. This is social science at its best - theoretically ambitious and empirically grounded.’

Michael Zürn - Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung and Freie Universität Berlin