Organizing for internationalism: A study of the educational mission of the United Nations Association of the U.S.A

This study is an exploration of the organizational processes through which an innovative ideology may become institutionalized. It focuses on the United Nations Association of the U.S.A. as an ideological organization advocating "internationalism." Participant observation, interviewing, and archival research methods are used to investigate the relationship between ideology and organization in a large chapter and at the national headquarters of UNA-USA. Social science literature often presents ideological organizations as tools for the dissemination of an already coherent ideology or as pluralistic arenas for the pursuit of multiple non-ideological goals. On the basis of this research, I argue for an alternative image of ideological organizations as crucibles for ideological change. The internationalism of UNA-USA is revealed to be an unstable combination of two different sets of beliefs. One, originating in religious reform movements of the late 1800's, is a "universal humanism." The other, represented by a small number of government and corporate leaders, is an "enlightened self-interest" relating the national interest to increased cooperation in international organizations. The commonalties and contradictions of these two internationalisms have been played out in the organizational history of UNA-USA. A new "multilateralism" has recently emerged from the organization, synthesizing the two earlier perspectives. Ideology, organization, and politics are each examined in this study, and linked in an analytical model of institutionalization as a political process of organizational and ideological change. Individuals and groups within the ideological organization are seen engaged in a continuous process of political contest and negotiation regarding both the nature of their beliefs and the organizational requirements for the advocacy of those beliefs. This process of negotiation generates a changing ideological discourse.