Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This chapter outlines the relatively new field of International Organizations and their impact on ethnic relations and migration. As IO’s, particularly in Europe, continue to expand their scope and influence they have begun to move into areas that have traditionally been the realm of states. This provides researchers with the opportunity to move the discipline from theoretical questions of what areas IO’s should be involved in to analytical work assessing their successes and failures. All that is missing currently is enough valid cases in which to test theories. Once other IO’s follow the example of their European counterparts, the number of useful, testable cases will expand. This chapter provides an overview of both the theoretical, descriptive literature in the discipline and the analytical work that has been completed. Moreover, the chapter provides a case study to further illustrate what type of analytical work is currently possible. By examining the influence of both participation and a lack of participation by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s High Commissioner on National Minorities and the European Union on ethnic relations in Estonia, Latvia, France and Spain we see not only how the discipline can move forward but also why the issues are so important. The chapter concludes with a discussion of both the future of IO involvement in these issues and the growth of the academic discipline that will follow. The paper illustrates how the two issues of ethnic relations and migration will become more fused in international politics and therefore it will become even more critical for IO involvement. It will also provide scholars the opportunity to ask new questions and test new theories.