The Criticism Dilemma in International Organizations
Researcher Ben Christian presents his forthcoming book, The Criticism Dilemma in International Organizations. At this INNER_LEAGUE team meeting, Ben will discuss the introduction and Chapter 3 from his book on the internal criticism culture in the UN Secretariat.
Abstract
Why do international organisations (IOs) so often fail to learn from their mistakes? The answer lies in an overlooked factor: how IOs deal with criticism from their own staff. The first systematic study of internal criticism cultures in IOs shows that organisational learning depends not only on formal infrastructures but also on whether staff feel able to voice criticism from within. Pointing out mistakes, challenging assumptions, and raising uncomfortable questions are essential for learning. Yet in many IOs, such criticism is silenced, undermining their own learning systems. These learning deficits result from a critical dilemma. While iOS needs internal criticism to learn, it cannot (and must not) fully leverage it. They are caught between a logic of learning and a logic of survival: repressive criticism cultures hinder learning but preserve IOs’ internal cohesion and external reputations, enabling them to act in politically demanding environments.
In this talk, I will explain this dilemma theoretically and show how IOs deal with it empirically. Drawing on organisation theory and sociological-institutionalist research, I examine critical cultures in the United Nations Secretariat, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. Based on 90 interviews with staff conducted in New York, Rome, and Geneva, as well as extensive document analysis, I reveal why learning deficits persist and how some employees nevertheless manage to make their criticism heard.
About the researcher
Ben Christian is a political scientist and postdoctoral researcher at Goethe University Frankfurt and an associate fellow at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF).
His research examines how global governance is made in the “engine rooms” of international institutions. He studies the everyday practices, organisational dynamics, and negotiation processes through which international organisations operate. In doing so, he seeks to understand how these processes shape institutional outputs in times of rising geopolitical fractures.
His book, The Criticism Dilemma in International Organizations, is under contract with Oxford University Press. His work has also appeared in International Studies Quarterly, Journal of European Public Policy, Global Studies Quarterly, Journal of International Relations & Development, and the Oxford Handbook of International Political Sociology.