Intergovernmental Organizations

Abstract

This survey reviews the role of intergovernmental organizations (IO) in domestic social policy. It first describes those IOs which are most relevant for national welfare states in developed nations: the World Bank (WB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Then it deals with the modes and means by which IOs attempt to have an impact on national welfare states. Five channels of influence are identified: resources, constraints, standards, evaluations, and ideas and information. The final section looks into the impact of IOs on national welfare states, the strategic interactions between IOs and domestic political actors (including blame shifting in the multi-level system), and uploading of national policies to the international level. The question of soft versus hard law, and the shift to soft law, as well as the democratic deficit on the level of IOs, are discussed.