Liberal Institutionalism and New Institutionalism

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Liberal institutionalism or institutional liberalism is a modern theory of international relations which claims that international organizations and institutions such as NATO, EU and the United Nations can increase and aid cooperation between states. Institutional liberalism builds on this beginning by arguing that it is possible for positive-sum games to exist in the world of international politics: that is, if states work together, they can both benefit from the process and, therefore, it makes sense for cooperation to spread in as many areas as possible. On the other hand new institutionalism is a theory that focuses on developing sociological views of institutions- the way they interact and the way they affect the society. It provides a way of viewing institutions outside of the traditional views of economics by explaining why and how institutions emerge in a certain way within a given context. New institutionalism recognizes that institutions operate in an environment consisting of other institutions, called the institutional environment. Every institution is influenced by the broader environment (or in simpler terms institutional peer pressure). In this environment, the main goal of organizations is to survive. In order to do so, they need to do more than succeed economically; they need to establish legitimacy within the world of institutions. First of all the authors about liberal institutionalism is David Mitrany’s work of Functional Approach to World Organization, in his work Mitrany proposes a new international order based on transnational cooperation. This theory has a non- political context. Mitrany’s work is based on functional approach which made him a functionalist, this tackle about functionalism a theory that focuses on the common needs shared by states. Substantive functions of functional international organizations include human rights,
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