Projects
Research
First Things First!
How do UN actors keep an issue, which is not seen as a priority, on the agenda in times of crisis?
Literature has extensively explored the process through which an issue is put on the agenda (agenda-setting). However, few works attempt to understand the rest of the story, i.e. how this issue is kept on the agenda. From 2022 to 2024, this project aims to conceptualize the mechanisms of agenda-keeping using two case studies: the operational work of the United Nations Environment Programme’s country office in Haiti and the climate policy action put forward by the UN Secretary General and his team.
Switzerland at the UN Security Council
How do states perform their role as elected members at the UN Security Council?
Following Switzerland’s first election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for a two-year period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024, this research project will document this unique experience to better understand the manifold practices through which elected members perform their role at the Council.
Books
Why International Organizations Hate Politics
How, why and to what end do international organizations present their action as outside the realm of politics?
Building on the concept of depoliticization, this book provides a first systematic analysis of international organizations’ apolitical claims. It shows that depoliticization sustains their everyday activities while allowing them to remain engaged in politics, even when they pretend not to.
International Organizations and Research Methods: an Introduction
Which methods are being used to study IOs and in what ways? Do we need a specific methodology applied to the case of IOs? What are the concrete methodological challenges when doing research on IOs?
This edited volume compiles an inventory of the methods developed in the study of IOs under the five headings of Observing, Interviewing, Documenting, Measuring, and Combining. Conceived as a daily companion throughout the research process, this handbook is aimed at students as well as young and experienced researchers wishing to enrich the range of tools available for conducting their research.
