This book examines the most important international organizations (IOs). It asks what obligations states take on when they join, as well as what tools of enforcement the organizations have and how states behave toward those obligations. Each chapter is organized around the three questions of obligation, compliance, and enforcement. For each organization, it examines the legal treaty that founds it and provides a detailed case study that shows how it operates in practice. The book provides an introduction to the politics of international organizations and to the international legal setting in which they exist.

The book looks at the law and politics of:

• the United Nations,

• the World Trade Organization,

• the European Union and other regional organizations,

• the International Court of Justice,

• the International Criminal Court,

• the International Labor Organization,

• the International Monetary Fund, and

• the World Bank.

International organizations begin as promises that states make to each other. Each organization is brought into being by an inter-state treaty that sets out the authority of the organization and the obligations of its members. Over time, however, they can become much more than this, and may have powers in practice which are not explicitly contained in the original treaty. In this book, we will see that international organizations can include rules and laws that limit what governments can do, courts that decide when states are breaking those rules, and sources of status and symbols for states to fight over.