Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs)
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All 11 Flashcards — Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs)
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Question
What is an IGO?
Answer
An organisation whose members are states, set up by a treaty to work together on shared goals.
Question
What does 'intergovernmental' mean?
Answer
'Between governments' — the members are states, not individuals or charities.
Question
How is an IGO different from an NGO?
Answer
An IGO's members are states (governments); an NGO's members are not — it is a charity or civil-society group.
Question
Name some IGOs.
Answer
The UN, NATO, WTO, IMF, World Bank, EU, African Union, ASEAN, WHO, UNICEF.
Question
What can IGOs do?
Answer
Pool money, people and knowledge; set rules; provide a forum; add legitimacy to shared action.
Question
What is the key limit on IGOs?
Answer
They have no army of their own and cannot force states — they depend on members and can be blocked (e.g. a veto).
Question
What is a treaty?
Answer
A formal, binding agreement between states — often what sets up an IGO.
Question
What did the WHO do in COVID-19?
Answer
Shared health advice, tracked the virus and ran COVAX to send vaccines to poorer countries.
Question
What is COVAX?
Answer
A global scheme, led by the WHO and partners, to share COVID-19 vaccines with poorer countries.
Question
Coordinate or command?
Answer
An IGO can coordinate states and pool resources, but it cannot command them — its power is borrowed from members.
Question
Why can IGO action be blocked?
Answer
Powerful states can dominate; at the UN Security Council one permanent member's veto can block a decision.
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Full study notes for Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs)
Topic 1.1 hub
Framing global politics
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