International Organizations and Multilateral Diplomacy
The UN system
Know the six principal organs (General Assembly, Security Council, ECOSOC, Trusteeship Council - now suspended, International Court of Justice, Secretariat). Distinguish recommendatory GA powers from the SC's binding Chapter VII authority. Understand veto mechanics (P5, permanent members), the "Uniting for Peace" resolution, peacekeeping doctrine (consent, impartiality, minimum use of force; Chapter VI vs VII mandates), and specialised agencies (WHO, ILO, UNESCO, FAO) versus funds and programmes (UNDP, UNICEF). Reform debates: SC expansion (G4, African Union Ezulwini Consensus, Uniting for Consensus).
Regional bodies
SAARC: consensus rule, secretariat in Kathmandu (1987), SAFTA, effectiveness constrained by India–Pakistan rivalry. OIC: 57 members, Jeddah secretariat, consensus diplomacy, human-rights and Rohingya resolutions. ASEAN: non-interference, ASEAN Way, centrality, ARF, ASEAN+3, East Asia Summit, and the ASEAN Charter (2008). Others: AU, EU (supranational vs intergovernmental distinction), BRICS, NAM, Commonwealth, WTO, IMF/World Bank.
Traps
Candidates conflate binding and non-binding instruments, misplace secretariats, or misstate voting rules (SAARC consensus, UNSC veto, IMF weighted voting). Do not call the ICJ a criminal court - that is the ICC (Rome Statute, complementarity). Do not describe ASEAN as supranational; the EU is the outlier.
Rule of thumb
For any organisation, answer four questions: membership, decision rule, enforcement capacity, and financing. This exposes why some institutions produce binding outcomes and others only norms.