The seminar seeks to provide students with a comprehensive and profound knowledge of theories of organization and cooperation in International Relations. It starts off with classical neorealist and neoliberal institutionalist theories of when and why states opt for cooperation and multilateralism rather than unilateral action or conflict. Such traditional rationalist institutionalist approaches to international order see problems of collective action or coordination between states as the primary driving force behind cooperation. After discussing different variants of institutionalism in International Relations, the seminar then moves towards newer sociological theorizing on international organization such as constructivist theories on the emergence, evolution and effects of norms as well as research into the internal life, 'pathologies' and 'mission creep' of international organizations inspired by organizational sociology. Throughout the seminar, theoretical reflections and research hypotheses will be applied to case studies in order to exhibit both their empirical relevance and their limitations. While we will look at specific international organizations or specific issue-related regimes in this course, the seminar's focus is on larger patterns of international organization and orders (normative, social) that structure the relationships between states as well as non-state actors. We will also reflect on how well existing theories are suited to address contemporary processes of institutional change both within international organizations and in larger architectures of global governance. The seminar is designed for students in the MA International Relations as well as MA Political Science. close