Secretariats of intergovernmental organizations deserve more scholarly attention. This book reveals how international secretariats have emerged and evolved, focusing on both structures (international public administrations) and the practitioners: international civil servants.
The book provides a comprehensive overview of two centuries of international civil servants and international secretariats, starting with the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), when the first international organization was established in the form of a river commission for the navigation of the Rhine. International civil servants can be traced back to this early moment. The Congress of Vienna also resulted in a system of multilateral conferences and follow-up conferences, which later institutionalized into organizations with permanent secretariats. The creation of permanent secretariats raised the issue of oversight of the work delegated to the secretariats. This resulted in the creation of another organ of international organizations, the governing board. Secretariat leadership moved from government representatives to international functionaries, particularly executive heads of international organizations, named director or secretary-general. These heads face political and organizational constraints, but also manage to find means which help to better achieve the purposes of their organizations.
The book fills a gap in the literature by exploring the full evolution of international secretariats. It covers the nineteenth century, the League of Nations, the United Nations, and the United Nations System with its many specialized agencies. It explains why NATO and the OECD have strong, rather than weak, international secretariats, and shines a light on the registries of international courts and tribunals. The book covers organizations globally: universal ones, continental ones (such as the Organization of American States), and regional commissions of the United Nations. It also examines regional integration practices around the world: secretariats in the Global South (Latin and Central America, Africa, and Asia), Western and Eastern Europe, as well as the post-Communist world.
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