2. International
Organizations (IO’s)
The League of Nations (1919-1939) - President Woodrow
Wilson
considered its architect, established after WWI, having
universal
membership, predeceasing UN
Manchuria (1931)
Italy-Ethiopia conflict (1935)
WWII
However, its legacy
lives on and the era of WWII was massive proliferation of
IGOs and other IOs
(over 20,000)

3. From the League of Nations to UN:
Creation of UN in 1945 - present
The founders – winner allies of WWII.
The main purpose of UN
 restore peace and maintaining security,
 establish friendly relations among nations,
 address economic,
• social, cultural and humanitarian problems,
• and to promote respect for universal human rights.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cqw8-ongtY

4. POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty
Organization was created in 1949
by the United States and several
Western European nations to
provide collective security against
the Soviet Union.
SIGNING OF THE NATO TREATYEuro-Atlantic Partnership Council meeting

5. WARSAW PACT -1955- 1991 Cold war
era
The Warsaw Pact, so named because the
treaty was signed in Warsaw, included
the Soviet Union, Albania, Poland,
Romania, Hungary, East Germany,
Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria as
members
EUROPEAN UNION (also economic)
Since WWII, capitalist countries wanted to create “rules”
for commercial and
financial dealings among capitalist countries as
well as promote free trade, stable currency
(linked to US dollar) and capital investment

6. WTO – WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
Not a trade block
153 Organizations
Facilitates free trade, ends trade disputes
BUT – very controversial…a force of
globalization; interests of global corporations;
have too much control

7. IMF – International Monetary Fund
 Rich countries contribute to this fund to stabilize world
 economy – lends money to countries that need it
 Benefits: help countries who need help
 Controversy:
 If countries cannot pay it back, IMF can come in and force
 economic change to government (slash education, military,
 etc…) – AUSTERITY MEASURES
 • Sometimes lend to corrupt dictators who steal money and then
 country is “on the hook”
 • Starting to run out of money

8. REGIONAL ECONOMIC GROUPS
 OPEC (Organization of Oil Exporting Countries)
 • Very powerful – formed in 1960
 • Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia)
 • NAFTA (North American Free Trade Association)
 • Canada, US, Mexico – free trade zone for products
 • EU (European Union)
 • Share currency, passport, free trade zone

9. EFFECT of ORGANIZATIONS to the Countries
 ECONOMIC SANCTIONS
 – Embargoes, boycotts, freezing of assets,
 restrictions on investments
 – Can harm a country’s economy
 – Really only wielded by rich nations