Three Roles

Archer (1992:135) identifies three roles that are commonly played by international organizations such as the IMF. These roles are:

1. Instrument
2. Arena
3. Independent Actor

Role as Instrument

The most common image of the international organization is that of an instrument used by its members to achieve certain goals. This is especially true of IGOs, whose member states use the organization as a convenient tool to achieve foreign policy objectives. According to the "realpolitik" theory of international relations, countries also push their own interests and own development agendas within IGOs (Viotti and Kauppi 1999). Developed countries, due to their political and economic power, are said to be those countries, which dominate discussions and decision-making in some IGOs. Developing countries are sometimes not well-represented in IGOs because of various reasons, some of these being that the IGO meetings are mostly held in the developed countries and cities (for example Geneva and Brussels in Europe), so physical access is easy for representatives of the developed countries, while representatives of developing countries may have to travel to go to the meetings. Expertise in information technology also makes it easy for the developed countries to take lead in such fora in terms of decision-making. Being part of an IGO also develops a country by gaining knowledge and skills, for example human resources and management, from other country representatives that they interact with at international organizations' meetings and conferences.

Role as Arena

In its role as arena or forum the international organization acts as a meeting place where members convene to discuss issues and if possible, come to agreements about such issues. ITU conferences that discuss and conclude telecommunications policies for member countries are a case in point. For example the Africa Telecom Conferences of 1998 and 2001 held in Midrand, South Africa at Gallagher Estates. The ITU holds these policy conferences every two years in various parts of the world, including Europe, Asia and Latin America. The IMF also holds meetings periodically to review its lending policy to countries, and also to help countries pay back their loans. The IMF also reviews its debt-relief policies, especially for African countries. In IGOs, therefore, states are given the opportunity to present their own viewpoints and suggestions in an open forum rather than using the bilateral diplomacy option. This open forum does not necessarily mean that your viewpoint as a country is always adopted. Decisions are taken through decision-making strategies such as voting by members.

Role as Independent Actor

International organizations such as the IMF act independently. Their decisions are regarded as decisions of the organization, not as decisions of the member countries. The World Bank, for example, acts independently, though developed countries are more represented in the World Bank's governing structures than the developing countries. Countries cooperate within international organizations and find common ground on issues. Decisions made on such issues are then regarded as decisions of the whole organization. IGOs, continue to set international rules and policies, which regulate how telecommunications companies of different countries interconnect with each other across borders, and also how ICTs can be used to bridge the infrastructure and information divide between countries, especially members of these IGOs. Such policies, include the policies of the IMF, the financial institution that supports poor nations to develop themselves.

The next sub-section reviews the specific roles of these international ICT policy-formulation organizations, starting with the ITU.