What International Organizations Produce: the Output Dimension

In the preceding chapters, we focused on the polities and politics of international organizations, outlining in general terms the structures, actors and processes that shape decision-making in international organizations. But arguably, what matters most in the end is what comes out of international organizations, that is, the policies international organizations produce. In this chapter we take a systematic look at what the main outputs of international organizations are. We differentiate between policy programmes, operational activities and information activities which accompany both programme and operational decision-making as well as operational activities (see Figure 7.1). For an overview of the political system of international organizations, see Figure 7.2 at the end of this chapter.