The "Politicization" Issue in the UN Specialized Agencies

Power, Politicization, and Network Positions : Explaining State Participation in the UPR

“…Only a modicum of literature empirically examine politicization, the pursuit of political objectives unrelated to human rights, a central interest in human rights discourse. The politicization of IGOs is a relatively unexplored topic (Reich 2005, 782), wherein literature focuses on the World Trade Organization (WTO), World Bank, or the UN specialized agencies in general (Brown 2011;Ghebali 1985;Lyons et al 1977;Reich 2005). There are various definitions of politicization 1 ; to fines politicization as "a situation where actions are taken for purposes unrelated or inadequately related to the goals and functions of that IGO, but rather stem from the geopolitical goals and strategies of a particular member state or group of member states" (784).…”

“…The UN's specialized agencies seek to promote nonpolitical goals, so embroilment in political conflicts erode the authority and credibility of international institutions (Reich 2005, 782-3). However, turning to Lyons et al (1977), politicization could be understood not only in pejorative terms, such as organizational defect, but also as a bargaining process wherein developing countries may promote a significant issue that extends beyond the technical goals of the organization (88). That is, UN specialized agencies may incorporate politicization to integrate dissatisfied powers into the international system (Lyons et al 1977, 88).…”

Women, Organizational Crisis, and Access to Leadership in International Organizations

“…UNESCO has at its heart the question of identity and the liberal internationalist ideals of peace through understanding and cooperation. With such 'soft' foundations and no 'hard' sanctions, UNESCO's politicization was seen by many as being part and parcel of international cooperation in this field (Lyons, Baldwin, andMcNemar 1977, Dutt 1995). In the past this has, as described above, led to considerable organizational instability as members accused each other not only of trying to erode liberal principles, e.g.…”

Rethinking depoliticisation: beyond the governmental

“…The Trilateral Commission's report -The crisis of democracy (1975) -therefore provides a notable reference point that led to a surge in research into public attitudes, political behaviour, social capital, cultural decline and the rise of 'disaffected democrats' (for a review see Norris, 2011). As a result, the concept of depoliticisation emerged within a wide range of discplines and sub-fields (development studies (Harriss, 2002), sociology (Boggs, 2000), European studies (Hooghe and Marks, 2008), party politics (Pellikan et al, 2003), international politics (Lyons et al, 1977;Sagarika Dutt, 1995), electoral politics (Power, 1991), geography (Shin, 2001), and so on) as a descriptive term, sometimes bordering on little more than a 'buzzword', to suggest the decreasing salience of 'political' issues among the public, and the emergence of a disinterested democratic culture. Although the literature on this 'face' is undoubtedly more diverse and unfocused than that surrounding statecentric approaches, it is possible to identify a strand of internal consistency among and between its component parts, in the form of a conception of politics as very much a participatory and deliberative endeavour.…”