Modern Applied Science; Vol. 10, No.

3; 2016
ISSN 1913-1844 E-ISSN 1913-1852
Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education

Investigating Role of International Regimes in Global Governance

Faranak Delshad Sani1 & Leila Mohammadzadeh2
1
MA in International Relations, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
2
MA in International Relations, Political Faculty, Islamic Azad University, Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
Correspondence: Muhammad Hisyam Lee, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. Tel: 6075-534-236. Fax: 6075-566-162. E-mail:
mhl@utm.my/assomeeh@yahoo.com

Received: December 25, 2015 Accepted: January 10, 2016 Online Published: January 31, 2016
doi:10.5539/mas.v10n3p102 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/mas.v10n3p102

Abstract
Governance can be determined as guided penetration in various procedures by great powers that is involved with
sophisticated and various mechanisms; in other words, global governance is a procedure which governor state
makes and determines its important decisions about who are involved with procedure and how to do their
responsibilities. International regimes are one of the most important and penetrator executive arms of
governments in global governance era which can play the most key role in this issue and bring the highest
benefit for their subordinate governments.
Actually, regimes make regulations and beliefs to guide and set international actors, they are proposed as
corporation mechanism among governments, makereliance and security, and help to international stability.
Objectives:
1. Recognition principles, bases, and dominant arrangement on international system based on global governance.
2. Analysis and determination reason and manner of cooperation among governments in model of international
regimes.
3. Investigating and recognition the most important and effective international regimes in global governance era.
Executive Methods:
The method is descriptive-analytical and case study.
Keywords: international regimes, global governance, public goods
1. Introduction
The most important principalactors in global governance era are international regimes. International regimes
include: “principles, regulations, and decision making procedures that actors’ wishes get near to each other and
convergent in an assumed limitation.” (Krasner, 19: 21)
2. Definition and Pillars of International Regimes Theory
Various theorists such as “Stephen Krasner”, “Oran Young”, “Joseph Nye”, “Donald Puchala”, “Robert
Keohane”, “Ernest Hass” etc. proposed various definitions for this matter.
According to “Stephen Krasner” claim: “regimes are compound of mediator variables that exist between
principal reasons from one hand and results and behaviors on the other hand.” He added: “norms, behavioral
criterions and rules, equipment or practical sanctions.”
However, “Stephen Krasner” is accepted as the most comprehensive and precise definition. According to
definition of “Stephen Krasner”, regimes include: “principles, regulations, norms, and decision making
procedures that actors’ expectations becomes convergent around them.”
Therefore, each regimes has four pillars:
1) Principles
2) Norm
3) Rules

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4) Decision making procedures

Public goods in economic knowledge are goods which are considered for public consumption and utilization that
mainly have three specifications:
1. These goods don’t make competitive advantages or maximally have low competitive degree.
2. Ownership of public goods isn’t monopoly and no certain consumer can deprive others from consumption by
make them monopoly.
3. Most public goods are not rejecting and consumer is obliged to consume them. Examples of these goods in
international era are international free business, monetary sustainability, peace, and security.
3. International Regimes Specifications
According to “Donald Puchala” and “Hopkins” view, international regimes have five specifications including:
1) Regimes show mental orientation. Behaviors follow principles, norms, and rules that sometimes show
themselves in legal clauses. Before anything, regimes represent themselves in conceptions, expectations, or
beliefs of participations about a proper behavior or norm.
2) Regimes have proper procedures for decision making.
3) Each regime has elites as actor of practical scene inside it and national governments are formal or main
members of international regimes.
4) Each regime encompasses principles and norms clarifying permitted and unpermitted action.
5) Regimes are in all international relationships era representing modeled behaviors. The mentioned behavioral
models may be domination of one actor or oligarchy of prosperous people or volunteer community of
participants. It is not necessary for a regime to support each others benefits. (Puchala&Hopkines, 1991: 61-2)
4. Role and Performance of International Regime
Regimes roles are evaluated based on their action independency while regimes performances will be evaluated
based on assigned tasks.
Three role are considered based on international regimes that are effective factors in making international
regimes based on “Krasner” classification including:
1. International regimes as instrumental role: this is mostly related to formal and governmental international and
regimes that put regimes as instrument for governments to get to their objectives.
2. International regimes as mediating or medium role: that is mostly in relation with issue level and bargain in
institutional matter. Here, regimes can mediate policy of participator units in a certain issue to some extent.
3. International regimes as independent role: that is mostly related to executing independent role of regime in
international system.
5. Types and Range of International Regimes
Today, regimes type and range include two dimensional, multidimensional, and all-dimensional relationship in
international level. In this regard, international range and types include various issues which most important are:
monetary regime, oil regime, human rights regime, seas regime, environment regime, military regime, etc.
However, regimes can be imagined as the following cases:
1) Special and Plural International Regimes
As it is understood from names of them, special regimes are related to the specific issue that a regime is made for
it and sometimes actors of such regimes are not varied. Plural regimes are against special regime and include
various issues and actors.
2) Laissez- Faire and Focused Regimes
If freedom action of participating units is high in a regime, that regime is called laissez-faire, while as much
regimes act more precisely and have closed regulation according to programming and control members tightly, it
is in focused regimes classification (Ghasemi, 2005)
3) Formal and Informal International Regimes
Formal regimes is called to which their actors are formal governments and also these regimes have official
statute and administrated by congresses and other official organization, while informal regimes don’t have statute
and are administrated by participation community or their implicit agreements.

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4) Imposed and Spontaneous International Regimes

Imposed regimes are called to which don’t have satisfaction and agreements of all countries in global level;
nonetheless, it is imposed by powerful countries to others. According to “Yung” idea, imposed regimes are made
by 2 implicit and explicit factors and dominant governments make others content by a type of hegemonic.
Regimes based on international free business and monetary and financial regimes are some examples. (Azadi,
2003)
However, spontaneous regimes are called to the ones made without direct intervention of governments and
people chronically. According to “Yung” idea, spontaneous regimes are made by time requirements and haven’t
been made by specific people and governments; unfortunately, disadvantage of these regimes is disabilities
against environmental crises.
5) International Regimes according to Policies and Strategies Aspect
These regimes are based on “Ernest Hess” which can be imagined in 4 states:
1. Action framework of actors and collecting and sharing data.
2. Making in common facilities and more precise recognition.
3. Changing obtained predictions from recognition, purposes, and intention of participators.
4. United policy of a group of governments (participators) which is implemented by precise designing of central
organization. (Hass, 1980)
6) International Regimes Based on Issue Levels
As it was mentioned previously, today international system needs to an internal arrangement based on its
incremental sophistication and also dominant sophistication on each issue that this arrangement is reflected in
various regimes models based on issue level. International political regimes, international law regimes,
international economic regimes, international security regimes, etc. are some examples.
7) Regional and Global International Regimes
These types of regimes are classified based on geographical zones that regional geographical regimes are divided
to smaller three levels:
1. Multipurpose regional international regimes in various political, economic, cultural, and so on issues.
2. Regional- federal international regimes in a security issue
3. Single-purpose regional international regimes that are mostly related to economic field.
Governance has so extensive conception with direct relationship with economic, or in better expression, with
economic security, politics, society, and law. Global bank which was published in global report in 1997 under
title of “government role in evolving world not only mentioned on government mediating role in economic
change, but also proposed theoretical and empirical discussions about government performances in global level
that was finally led to the mentioned discussions hierarchy to determine governance elements.
Economics of governance journal knows governance principally synonym of “governing and devise”. In this
regard, it considers necessary installation against various problems made for people and groups in public ad
private sectors while devising and managing their affairs.
United Nations development program mostly mention to democratic governance; however, it considers purposes.
It indicates that governance is “institutions sense of commitment and government processes to satisfy initial
needs of citizens.”
In the rest, the most important and effective titles on regimes changes include:
1) Economic and technological development
2) change in power structure
3) insufficiencies of regimes
6. Global Governance
The conception of global governance has gotten to its actualization time. In other words, after Cold War it
opened its status as the main vector in international relationships. According to this view, governments and
people are able to cooperate in economic, environmental, security, and political issues both in national and
international eras just by global governance and they can propose their criticisms by non-aggressive manners and

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move ahead their interests and values. (Barnet & Duvall, 2005)
According to “Wallerstein” view, the global capitalist system which was made since 16th century is a
nation-government political framework with governance prosperity this power mediating never let any
government to move this system toward a united global imperial. (Wallerstein, 1974)
Investigating role, responsibilities, and authorities of Security Council guide us to this conclusion that this
organization is responsible for international security and peace that is based on a military fore and power basis.
The main reason of assigning responsibility of protecting international peace and security to Security Council is
that organization is able of providing effective and quick action in this field. It guarantees peace by inserting
force and power using military forces. Security Councilsays the first speech about binding decisions and
preventing peace, denying it, and removing invasion by retaliation, which means using force, is effective.
In first 45 yeas of United Nations activities, about 1990, the average monthly resolution published by Security
Council didn’t exceed one number in each month, while these resolutions get to 5 to 7 ones and number of
resolutions in January of 1993 got to 14 numbers.
In other word, by investigating these years, it is concluded that Security Council didn’t have much efficiency
before Cold War and its main reason is in facing with 2 great powers of US and former Soviet Union that
inefficiency of Security Council was maximum in vicious circle meetings and multiple logos. The most
important breakthrough of Security Council during these years can be known as related resolution to Korea war.
7. Conclusion
Issue of international regimes which have been noticed in modern era both in composing units’ era and reactions
era such as cooperation and contradictions. International regimes are collection of principles, norms, and
decision making procedures which actors needs based on these regimes got convergent and accomplished.
Contract, treaties, and international institutions or more simply, international regimes collection prioritize
infrastructural distribution of governors national capacities or condemned failure. “Krasner” in investigating its
35-year history found that favorite and needed values by powerful government in all cases dictate regulations
and laws and they are discriminately used just for weak nations. Right to national governance of governments
has been known as an infrastructural principle can’t cope with intention of a powerful government which tries to
interrupt in weak country affairs.
In other words, most international laws are not usually acted by all countries, but powerful nations can change
laws to their benefits or deny laws if they want.
Though, author refers to this issue as policy maker and suggestion that United Nations have this ability to work
as the supreme and powerful evolved reference of international regimes to govern the world and prevent from
hegemonic activities of various countries in different centuries. The requirement of this action is making clarified
and fixed legal regimes, powerful and effective financial supporter and organization as security regime is in its
head, because since the main core of international relationships is power element and conflict are made to get
power.
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