Hidden Legacies How discontinued International Organizations have shaped European governance since the 1910s

Introduction

What happens after international organizations (IOs) cease to exist? While IOs’ ends are occasionally discussed in political science and legal studies, we know very little about the legacy of IOs, and hence the subsequent role and impact of people, ideas, practices, and objects (including buildings and budgets) that once filled such organizations with life and meaning.

Hypothesis

InechO hypothesizes that for a full understanding of international history and questions of political governance more broadly, it is indispensable to consider the legacy and impact of liquidated IOs. New beginnings frequently echo the work of earlier IOs, even if existing interpretations and narratives ignore or downplay such links.

Methodology

Using largely neglected public and private sources as well as interviews, InechO will break new ground for international and European history by focusing on the “afterlives” of European International Organizations since the 1910s.

Case Studies

It highlights five empirical case studies representing the whole spectrum of possible options.

Interdisciplinary Approach

Informed by and contributing to an interdisciplinary state of the art, InechO builds on an innovative set of concepts and methods to address these issues.

Conceptual Framework

InechO will thus establish a new conceptual framework that will help research to rethink the nature of international cooperation and internationalism.

Relevance

Its approach and its findings are also highly relevant for the analysis of other world regions and their international history and for audiences beyond academia.