Product Description International organizations are at the heart of many global issues today. This new textbook looks at the leading international organizations and explains how they both shape and are shaped by international politics. The book examines three themes: the legal obligations that give international organizations their powers; the mechanisms that elicit compliance by their member states; and the practices of enforcement in the organization. Each chapter shows how international organizations work in practice and the interactions between them and their member states. This fresh text provides a comprehensive understanding of what international organizations do how and why they do it and the challenges they face. Review ‘Cogent concise and intellectually incisive this book will educate and motivate students scholars and diplomats alike.’ -Michael Byers Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law University of British Columbia‘A much-needed addition to the field of international organizations. Ian Hurd explores the key theoretical and practical issues concerning international organizations in a well-written engaging and comprehensive manner.’ - Jon Pevehouse. University of Wisconsin‘This terrific introduction by one of the leading younger scholars of International Organizations is core reading for any course on international institutions: it is accessible comprehensive in its coverage of the key International Organizations and compellingly structured according to states’ obligations arising from an IO treaty states’ compliance with these obligations in practice and the IO’s powers to enforce compliance.’ - Ulrich Sedelmeier Senior Lecturer in International Relations London School of Economics and Political Science Book Description A detailed 2010 guide to the politics law and practices of the most important international organizations in the world. About the Author Ian Hurd is Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. He is a leading scholar of international law and international relations and has won awards for his research and teaching including the Chadwick Alger prize for After Anarchy: Legitimacy and Power in the UN Security Council and the Barry Farrell award at Northwestern University for teaching excellence. He is also the co-editor of The UN Security Council and the Politics of International Authority.