INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
An overview of some of the world’s most important international organizations: the United Nations, World Bank and IMF, NATO, the World Trade Organizations, and the G7 and G20.
UNITED NATIONS
The UN (United Nations) is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1945 and headquartered in New York City, which serves to maintain international peace, security, and cooperation.
It was originally founded with 50 countries, with the purpose of preventing further world wars.
Today it has 193 member states, with two non-member observer states (Palestine and the Holy See.)
The UN’s most important branch is the UN Security Council, which focuses on maintaining international peace. Its permanent members are France, UK, Russia, US, and China (the victors of World War II) and it additionally has ten elected members to represent the major regions of the world.
The General Assembly, made up of all 193 members, serves to develop policies to address global issues of development, economics, and human rights.
There are other branches, including the International Court of Justice (located in the Hague) and the Economic and Social Council.
There are UN Offices in many other cities, but the largest offices are in New York and Geneva.
WORLD BANK and IMF
The World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund), like the UN, were formed after Word War II as a measure to foster international cooperation. Both aim to maintain global economic stability, and both are headquartered in Washington DC.
The World Bank’s focus is on the eradication of poverty, and lends heavily to developing countries, especially in Africa and Asia; whereas the IMF primarily lends to countries in crisis or struggling to repay debts.
NATO
NATO is a military alliance between the US, Canada, and many European countries, originally formed in 1949 as a measure to protect against the threat of the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, NATO shifted its mission and accepted a number of former Soviet Union republics and satellite states as members.
Today, the organization has expanded to become the largest alliance in the world, including 30 member states as well as additional partner states.
Its most significant interventions were in the 1990s in the Bosnian conflict; the war in Afghanistan in 2001, and the campaign to oust Muammar Qaddafi in Libya in 2011.
NATO’s political headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium.
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
The WTO (World Trade Organization), based in Geneva, was formed in 1995 and serves to regulate international commerce, enforce trade agreements and settle international trade disputes.
G7 and G20
The G7 is a group of seven great powers- the US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan – originally formed in the 1970s – which maintain close diplomatic and cultural relations.
Russia was included in the group in the 1990s but was excluded in 2014 after the illegal annexation of Crimea.
The more inclusive G20 which includes economic powerhouses like China, India, and Brazil, focuses on economic issues and is increasingly being considered the more preeminent forum.
