International organizations as independent agents and their internal political process.

This paper discusses the relevance of the institutionalization process of ad hoc multilateral conferences and their follow-up conferences. This process resulted in organizations characterized by such elements as continuity, rational-legal authority, hierarchy, independence and entrepreneurship.Under certain conditions (which refer to both the internal functioning of an international organization and its external environment) the international secretariat may develop leadership which allows international organizations to play roles that go beyond what the founders had in mind and also go beyond their means of control (constitution, regulations, bodies).The paperdiscusses relevant internal aspects of the policy cycle, such as agenda setting, a participative subsystem, decision-making arrangements, an international secretariat, international law, monitoring and feedback mechanisms as well as bureaucratic pathologies. The paper uses examples from the history of international organizations in the 19th and 20th century, which highlight the relevant mechanisms. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]