Intergovernmental Organization - Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths and Weaknesses

These are some of the strengths and weaknesses of IGOs:

Strengths:

  1. They hold state authority.
  2. Their institutions are permanent.
  3. They provide a forum for discussion.
  4. They are issue specific.
  5. They provide information.
  6. They allow multilateral cooperation.

Weaknesses:

  1. Membership is limited. Prohibits the membership of private citizens. This makes IGOs undemocratic. In addition, not all IGOs allow universal membership.
  2. IGOs often overlap resulting in a complex network.
  3. States have to give up part of their sovereignty, which weakens the state's ability to assert its authority.
  4. Inequality among state members creates biases and can lead powerful states to misuse these organizations.

They can be deemed unfair as countries with a higher percentage voting power have the right to veto any decision that is not in their favor, leaving the smaller countries powerless.

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