The strangest thing about international organizations is that for all the appearance that they have of bringing about a dulling rationalization of life, they are enmeshed in global politics as deeply as any other actor, if not more deeply. The very existence of international organizations in a world order founded on the equal sovereignty of states defies fundamental logic and possibly confirms that they exist both as instruments of policy and as political agents. International organizations have a complex history of their own, and ascertaining their politics is, arguably, in the eyes of the beholder.