Cross-cutting memberships, integration, and the international system

Are cross-cutting memberships relevant to international organization? To an extent at least, the assumption seems to be yes and no. The yes refers to the fact that directly or indirectly the concept comes in for mention in a number of discussions of organization and integration in general, not international organization alone. In other words, here seems to be one of those factors that applies to organizations as such, not just to interna-tional organizations or organization. But at the same time we encounter the no, a gen-eral lack of direct discussion, let alone analysis of the subject. It is an assumption of this discussion, then, that the subject of cross-cutting memberships is relevant. It also is an assumption of this discussion that the paucity of direct consideration of the topic by writers who are discussing international organiza-tion and integration or disintegration is in effect an unstated conclusion arising from a proposition that might be stated this way: Cross-cutting memberships are most frequent at levels least relevant to operational integra-tion of the international system. Or it might be put another way: Cross-cutting memberships tend to be resultant rather than causal in the international inte-grative process. 1This discussion is based on work originally done at the Graduate School of International