New Books in Critical Theory Negar Mansouri and Daniel R. Quiroga-Villamarín eds., "Ways of Seeing International Organisations: New Perspectives for International Institutional Law" (Cambridge UP, 2025
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Dec 13, 2025 Negar Mansouri, a postdoctoral researcher at Copenhagen Business School, and Daniel R. Quiroga-Villamarín, a postdoctoral fellow at NYU, delve into the limitations of current international institutional law. They critique the positivist approach that dominates the field and advocate for a more interdisciplinary perspective. Key discussions include the influence of technocratic framing on policy, the importance of physical spaces in international organizations, and the links between capitalism and institutional change. Their research aims to unravel the complexities of global governance.
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Conference Origin Story In Geneva
- Daniel and Negar met as PhD students in Geneva and shared frustration with the field's limits.
- Their conference in 2021 led directly to the edited volume challenging mainstream IO scholarship.
Four Themes Reframe IO Questions
- The book groups chapters into four themes: expertise, structure, performance, and capital to reframe IO questions.
- Daniel Quiroga‑Villamarín says this structure enables interdisciplinary conversations across law, STS, anthropology, and political economy.
Expertise Depoliticizes Complex Politics
- Technical expertise in IOs often depoliticizes issues by framing them as neutral, solvable problems.
- Negar Mansouri shows shifts like 'limits to growth' → 'sustainability' masked trade and market politics in favor of neoliberal frames.
