International Organizations play a pivotal role on the modern global stage and have done, this book argues, since the beginning of the 20th century. This volume offers the first historical exploration into the formative years of international public administrations, covering the birth of the League of Nations and the emergence of the second generation that still shape international politics today such as the UN, NATO and OECD.

Centring on Europe, where the multilaterization of international relations played out more intensely in the mid-20th century than in other parts of the world, it demonstrates a broad range of historiographical and methodological approaches to institutions in international history. The book argues that after several 'turns' (cultural, linguistic, material, transnational), international history is now better equipped to restate its core questions of policy and power with a view to their institutional dimensions. Making use of new approaches in the field, this book develops an understanding of the specific powers and roles of IO-administrations by delving into their institutional make-up.

Karen Gram-Skjoldager is Associate Professor of 20th century International History at Aarhus University, Denmark. She has published two monographs and a number of articles in international and global history journals, and is currently the Director of the research project The Invention of International Bureaucracy, funded by the Danish Council for Independent Research.

Haakon Andreas Ikonomou is Associate Professor of International History at University of Copenhagen, Denmark, where he is also Director of the Rethinking European Integration Research Group. He is the editor of two volumes on themes of international history and has published several articles in top journals in his field.

Torsten Kahlert is a Postdoctoral Researcher and part of The Invention of International Bureaucracy project at Aarhus University, Denmark. He has published one book and several articles in the field of history of science and international history. He is member of the advisory group and review editor of H-Soz-Kult.