Advocacy and Change in International Organizations: Communication, Protection, and Reconstruction in UN Peacekeeping (Oxford University Press, 2023) can be ordered here with code ASFLYQ6 for a 30% discount.
You can read a summary on the “Multilateralism in Action” by Columbia SIPA.
You can listen to Episode 10 of “The External” podcast by EU RENEW, where Gustavo Müller interviews me about the book.
Awards
Advocacy and Change in International Organizations: Communication, Protection, and Reconstruction in UN Peacekeeping is the winner of the 2024 Chadwick F. Alger Book Award by the International Studies Association International Organization Section. The prize committee has provided the following reasoning for its decision:
“The book…[is] an excellent work of scholarship…[that] combines rich case studies, mixed methods, and solid theoretical work to show the strategies that advocates can use to shape UN and IO actions, strategies, and beliefs. It adds to our understanding of international organizations as independent actors and bureaucracies, adjusting policies not just to fit state preferences but also with input from civil society actors, and the ideas of independent policy-makers”.
The book was included on the International Affairs 2024 Summer Reading List.
Reviews
In a review for Perspectives on Politics, Richard Caplan offers the following commendation: “Advocacy and Change in International Organizations makes a highly significant contribution to the literature on the working of IOs, and UN peacekeeping in particular. It provides a theoretically informed and empirically grounded explanatory framework that is cogent and insightful. Its rigorous analysis and compelling arguments ensure that it will be a valuable resource for scholars and a pivotal reference in the field for years to come”.
In a review for International Affairs, Sabrina Arias notes the following: “[T]he book’s advocacy framework is highly original, rich and thought-provoking. The careful empirical evidence tells an illuminating story. Scholars with a variety of different research interests, from international cooperation to peacekeeping and bureaucratic politics, will find the book useful”.
Reviewing the book for The Review of International Organizations, Ben Christian offers the following reflection: “Advocacy and Change in International Organizations is a highly significant contribution to the literature on IOs…that offers enormous added value, both theoretically and empirically. Scholars interested in IO change, international norms, and peacekeeping should, therefore, closely examine Oksamytna’s arguments and findings. Yet the results are also highly relevant for practitioners in and around IOs”.
In a review for International Peacekeeping, Herman T. Salton describes it as an “ambitious, important, and innovative book…[that] makes a persuasive case that advocacy is a consequential but neglected source of change in IOs”.
In Global Governance, Tom Buitelaar argues that “the book’s sophisticated framework, excellent grounding in the literature, and rich empirical material mean that Oksamytna has delivered an impressive contribution to the field”.
It has been reviewed in Choice, the magazine of the Association of College and Research Libraries, by Paul F. Diehl, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:
“The detailed analysis here, derived from interviews and documents, is relevant for scholars of international organizations generally and peacekeeping scholars in particular. Practitioners, especially policy advocates, might also find clues for pursuing strategies for promoting change. Highly recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals”.