Göran Ahrne and Nils Brunsson combine the fields of organization theory and international relations in a new way. They portray a theory based on insights from organization studies that is also used to explain and understand international organizations. This theory creates new possibilities to analyze meta-organizations such as the EU and the UN and compare them to other meta-organizations such as national trade associations, sport federations and international non-governmental organizations. The authors point out striking similarities between all these organizations that have never been discovered before, including the conditions for membership, identity formation and decision-making.
The book opens a whole new area for organizational research. It will be essential reading for researchers and postgraduate students interested in organization theory, globalization, politics and organizations, or international organizations.
Contents: Preface; 1. Organized Organizations; 2. Many Meta-organizations; 3. Environment, Members, and Meta-organizations; 4. Creating and Sustaining Meta-organizations; 5. Similarity, Dissimilarity, and Identity Formation; 6. Conflicts and Decision-making Problems; 7. The Dynamics of Meta-organizations; 8. Meta-organizations and Individual-based Organizations; 9. Organized Globalisation; References; Index