The ability of organizations to learn---the process by which individuals learn from direct experience and translate that learning into organizational doctrine and memory---largely determines the course and outcomes of organizational policymaking. A set of hypotheses derived from research in political psychology, learning studies, and organization theory are employed to assess the ability of one international organization, the United Nations, to learn from its history of peacekeeping operations, as manifested in the thinking and behaviour of five Secretaries-General. A conceptual model linking processes of organizational learning, individual personality characteristics, and the nature of the international system is developed and operationalized. On the basis of earlier research on learning in international relations, personality, and organizational change, this study illustrates how organizational learning takes place, what factors are necessary for it to occur, and under what conditions it is translated into policy change. This thesis contributes to the literature, by applying research in these distinct fields to international organization, by testing organizational theories of learning in a detailed case study of the Secretaries-General and the evolution of U.N. peacekeeping, and by providing new insights into the nature of international organizational learning and policy change.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.29828 |
| Date | January 1999 |
| Creators | Halton, Daniel A. |
| Contributors | Brecher, Michael (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Department of Political Science.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001686786, proquestno: MQ54992, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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