Taming Time Researching the United Nations and Other International Organizations

Speakers: Irène Bellier (CNRS), Sandrine Kott (UNIGE), Ronald Niezen (McGill University), Bob Reinalda (Radboud University) and Thomas Weiss (CUNY). Chair: Mathilde Bourrier (UNIGE).

The second roundtable is dedicated to discussing the issue of time and temporalities in IO investigations. Time is a polysemic variable. It encompasses the way IOs face their own history, but also the different temporalities of their decision-making processes. Operationaly, they navigate between crisis mode and routine mode and often times they do both at the same time. This complexity seems to be a blind spot in international organizations studies. Consequently the following questions may be raised: In what way does the concept of time become a vector to shed light on IOs’ characteristics? How can researchers methodologically address the evolution of IOs with respect to their changing and evolving practices and activities? What challenges poses the question of differentiated temporalities to a researcher?

This second roundtable is conceived as a special event that gathers confirmed researchers to embrace the vast question of time in the context of International Organizations.