Roles of International Organizations
▪ International anarchy is balanced by world order—rules and institutions through which states cooperate for mutual benefit. States follow the rules—both moral norms and formal international laws—much more often than not. These rules operate through institutions (IOs), with the UN at the center of the institutional network
▪ Most international conflicts are not settled by military force.
States work with other states for mutual gain and take advantage of each other only “at the margin.”
States work together by following rules they develop to govern their interactions. States usually do follow the rules. Over time, the rules become more firmly established and institutions grow up around them.
The rules that govern most interactions in IR are rooted in norms. International norms are the expectations actors hold about normal international relations. The invasion of Kuwait by Iraq not only was illegal, but was widely viewed as immoral— beyond the acceptable range of behavior of states.
Some norms, such as sovereignty and respect for treaties, are widely held; they shape expectations about state behavior and set standards that make deviations stand out. Constructivist scholars in IR emphasize the importance of these global norms and standards. The attempt to define international norms follows a centuries-long philosophical tradition.
International law
is a system of norms regulating interstate relations created by their participants. International law consists of norms, individual permissions, regulations and prohibitions governing interstate relations.
International law, derives from tradition and agreements signed by states.And depends not on the power but on reciprocity, collective action, and international norms
Four sources of international law are recognized: treaties, custom, general principles of law, and legal scholarship.
Treaties and other written conventions signed by states are the most important source. A principle in international law states that treaties, once signed, must be observed. States violate the terms of treaties they have signed only if the matter is very important or the penalties for such a violation seem very small.
Treaties and other international obligations such as debts are binding on successor governments. For example, Even when the Soviet Union broke up, Russia as the successor state had to guarantee that Soviet debts would be paid and Soviet treaties honored. Because of the universal commitment by all states to respect certain basic principles of international law, the UN Charter is one of the world’s most important treaties.
International law, the formal body of rules for state relations, derives from treaties (most important), custom, general principles, and legal scholarship—not from legis- lation passed by any government.
International law is difficult to enforce and is enforced in practice by national power, international coalitions, and the practice of reciprocity.
HUMAN RIGHT
in 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted what is considered the core international docu- ment concerning human rights: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
The UDHR does not have the force of international law, but there international norms regarding behavior by governments toward their own citizens and foreigners alike. The declaration roots itself in the principle that violations of human rights upset international order. The declaration proclaims that “all human beings are born free and equal” without regard to race, sex, language, religion, political affiliation, or the status of the territory in which they were born.
▪ International norms concerning human rights are becoming stronger and more widely accepted. However, human rights law is problematic because it entails interference by one state in another’s internal affairs.
Two key treaties are the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR).
The remaining treaties each deal with a particular group that the international com- munity considers vulnerable. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), enacted in 1969, bans discrimination against individuals based on race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin.

The CERD does notinclude language concerning gender discrimination. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), however, fills this void by banning discrimination against women. CEDAW entered into force in 1981.
The Convention Against Torture (CAT), instituted in 1987, bans dehumanizing, degrading, and inhumane treatment of individuals even in times of war.29 The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), enacted in 1990, promotes children’s health, education, and physical well-being (every country in the world except Somalia and the United States has approved the CRC). Finally, the most recent UN human rights treaty is the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Wor
THE NORTH SOUTH GAP
Most of the world’s people live in poverty in the global South. About a billion live in extreme poverty, without access to adequate food, water, and other necessities.
Wealth accumulation depends on the meeting of basic human needs such as access to food, water, educa- tion, shelter, and health care. Third world states have had mixed success in meeting their populations’ basic needs.
Hunger and malnutrition are rampant in the global South. The most important cause is the displacement of subsistence farmers from their land because of war, population pressures, and the conversion of agricultural land into plantations grow- ing export crops to earn hard currency.
Urbanization is increasing throughout the global South as more people move from the countryside to cities. Huge slums have grown in the cities as poor people arrive and cannot find jobs.
Poverty in the South has led huge numbers of migrants to seek a better life in the North; this has created international political frictions. War and repression in the South have generated millions of refugees seeking safe haven. Under international law and norms, states are generally supposed to accept refugees but do not have to accept migrants.
Because of the negative impact of colonialism on local populations, anticolonial move- ments arose throughout the global South at various times and using various methods. These culminated in a wave of successful independence movements after World War II in Asia and Africa.
Following independence, third world states were left with legacies of colonialism, including their basic economic infrastructures, that made wealth accumulation dif- ficult in certain ways. These problems still remain in many countries.
ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATION
Environmental problems are an example of international interdependence and often create collective goods problems for the states involved. The large numbers of actors involved in global environmental problems make them more difficult to solve.
To resolve such collective goods problems, states have used international regimes and IOs, and have in some cases extended state sovereignty to make management a national rather than an international matter.
International efforts to solve environmental problems aim to bring about sustaina- ble economic development.
Global warming results from burning fossil fuels—the basis of industrial economies today. The industrialized states are much more responsible for the problem than are developing countries, but countries such as China and India also contribute to the problem. Solutions are difficult to reach because costs are substantial and dangers are somewhat distant and uncertain.
Many species are threatened with extinction due to loss of habitats such as rain forests. An international treaty on biodiversity and an agreement on for- ests aim to reduce the destruction of local ecosystems, with costs spread among states.
Pollution—including acid rain, water and air pollution, and toxic and nuclear waste—tends to be more localized than global and has been addressed mainly through unilateral, bilateral, and regional measures rather than global ones.
■ World population—now at 7 billion—may eventually level out around 10 billion. Virtually all of the increase will come in the global South.
Population Policies
The policies that governments adopt—not just economic and demographic conditions— influence the birthrate. Among the most impor- tant policies are those regarding birth control (contraception). State policies vary widely.
At one extreme, China uses its strong government control to try to enforce a limit of one child per couple. Penalties for having a second child include being charged for services that were free for the first child. China has started to encourage wealthy and more edu- cated families to have two children, and now, in some Chinese cities such as Shanghai, cou- ples are allowed two-child families. Beyond two children, the penalties escalate.
Future world population growth will be largely driven by the demographic transi- tion. Death rates have fallen throughout the world, but birthrates will fall propor- tionally only as per capita incomes go up. The faster the economies of poor states develop, the sooner their populations will level out.