New Public Management and the reform of international organizations

This article will posit a model of New Public Management (NPM) and use it to analyze the operations of a small number of leading international organizations. Have international organizations implemented NPM reforms similar to those of their member states? If so, did this occur as a result of autonomous action or as a result of pressure applied by those states? I hypothesize that the complexity of international operations and policy-making, and the multinational nature of international administration, will act to insulate the administration of international organizations (IOS) from implementing NPM in its totality. Funding is likely to be critical mediating variable; organizations reliant on contributions from states that have been strong supporters of NPM reforms will be more likely to have implemented significant reforms. Exploring this issue will provide a useful test of the alleged universality of NPM, and help to identify the particular attributes of IOS that may make them resistant to the charms of market-based management reforms.