Review: International Organization in the Modern World
| Date | 01 December 1993 |
| Published date | 01 December 1993 |
| Author | Margaret Doxey |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209304800408 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
Reviews
INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATION
IN
THE
MODERN
WORLD
The
regional
and
the
global
process
Paul
Taylor
London:
Pinter/New
York:
St
Martin's
Press,
1993,
viii,
26
2pp
In
recent
years
the United
Nations
has
moved
to
the
centre
of
the
international
political
arena,
tackling
tasks
which
go
far
beyond
the
traditional peacekeeping operation
undertaken
by
lightly
armed
troops
with
the
consent
of
formerly
warring
parties.
At
the
same
time the
European
Community
has
not
only
proved
unequal
to
the
task
of
cop-
ing
with
conflict
in
the
Balkans,
but
the
latest
stage
of
European
polit-
ical
and
economic
integration
has
run
into
unprecedented
difficulties
over
ratification
of
the
Maastricht
Treaty
in
Denmark,
Britain,
and
even
Germany
where
the
constitutionality
of
the
treaty
has
been challenged
in
the
courts.
A
comparative
study which
sheds
light
on the
dynamics
of
institutionalized
co-operation
at
both
the regional
and
the global
levels
is
therefore
particularly
welcome.
Paul
Taylor
is
well
known
for
his
work
in
the
field
of international
organization.
In
his
new
book he
is
concerned
with
the
effects
of
inter-
national
organizations on
states
and
not
with
the
characteristics
of
these
bodies
per
se.
He
suggests
that
the outline
-
or
skeleton
-
of
his
thesis
can be
grasped
by
a
sequential
reading
of
the
introductions
to each
section
and
the
book's
conclusion,
and
I
found
this
to
be
good
advice.
Detailed
chapters
on
the
lessons
of
the
Community,
the development
of
global
organization,
and
the
new
global
agenda
then
provide
empir-
ical
flesh
for the
theoretical
bones.
Taylor's
overall
conclusion
is
that
state sovereignty
is
not
signifi-
cantly
weakened
by
membership
of
international
organizations;
in
fact
regional
bodies
and
state
sovereignty
can
be
mutually
reinforcing.
In
other
words,
at
this
level,
there
is a
symbiotic
relationship,
which
is
more
readily
understood
in
the
context
of
consociationalism. He
sees
the
motives
for
regional integration
as
a
blend
of
economic
self-interest
and
political
fear:
a
desire
to
share
in
the
benefits
of
the
collective
enterprise
and
not
to
be
marginalized
or
left
on
the
sidelines.
At
the
To continue reading
Request your trial