The word “association” is regularly found in the media. In everyday life, you can hear it quite often, but few think about its meaning. Of course, the meaning should be interpreted only in the context of a phrase, since it can change depending on the surrounding words. This term is used in many sciences: psychology, economics, political science, chemistry, statistics and others, therefore its versatility is beyond doubt.
The most common meaning is “union” or “union”. And this is not surprising, because every day you can hear broadcasts on radio or television, which mention a large number of different associations, for example, banking, transport, legal, etc. In a broader sense, an association is an association of people or organizations created for the purpose of mutual assistance and support. Such a union has 3 characteristic features: voluntary participation, cooperation, and coordination of forces.
What is an international association?
In the age of globalization, it is not surprising that associations can cover not only large enterprises and corporations, but even countries. Most often, such unions are designed to protect the rights of workers in a particular industry, understand the problems of further development and take the necessary measures. International organizations issue various standards, seek to improve the qualifications of employees, and many conferences and events are held on their basis. It seems that the life of an ordinary person nowhere intersects with the activities of such unions, but this is not entirely true. They can invisibly affect the quality of life, because in the modern world, all areas are strongly connected with each other. An example is the Association of International Pharmaceutical Manufacturers. Most people use medical products, so the quality standards adopted by this union directly affect the health and productivity of treating diseases. This is just one of many examples of such organizations. Today in the world there are quite a lot of them.
Classification of International Organizations
World organizations are subject to classification on several grounds.
The first factor is the spread of their action. In this case, unions can be divided into world and regional (an example of a world association - the UN, regional - the European Union).
According to the purpose of their existence, general and special organizations are distinguished (an example of a general organization is the Organization of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and a special one is the International Bar Association).
Another sign of classification is the socio-economic orientation. In this case, we can distinguish such groups as international organizations of developed developing countries and mixed type.
Famous international unions
The most famous and influential world association is the United Nations, which was organized to maintain security and peace, as well as to develop partnerships and cooperation between states. The main provisions of the UN were developed after the end of World War II, the charter of the organization was approved by 50 countries in 1945. One of the most famous documents adopted by the organization was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has not lost its significance and relevance over the years.
Activities of associations in Russia
In addition to major world unions, each country has its own organizations that guard the interests of most people. Russia is no exception, since many associations operate on its territory. The appearance of such entities in different countries is due to the fact that each of them has its own nuances and individual characteristics. Russian associations operate taking into account the specifics of the economy, the system of laws, living conditions, the level of social development and other factors.
Russian associations: new trends
As you know, many associations have been established in Russia. So what do they regulate? We can say that almost no area is complete without the participation of such organizations. There are many examples: the National Association of Agricultural Exporters, the Monetary Association and many others. Banking, agriculture, medicine, marketing - this is not the whole list that associations cover.
An interesting fact is that relatively recently, in 2009, the Russian Association of Wind Industry was created. This is a completely new direction, its goal is to replace the usual sources of energy that pollute the atmosphere, new environmentally friendly ways to obtain it. For this, it is planned to create several wind farms in Russia.
Associations in Europe
Europe is of particular interest from the point of view of integration, since one of the most famous associations to date, the European Union, was created on its territory. This is a large geopolitical and economic association, which includes 28 countries of Europe and is aimed at the integration of the European space. For this purpose, a single market was created, a single currency, a standardized system of laws that operates in Europe. For most European countries such an association is very important. This provides many opportunities and benefits. Thanks to such measures, the free movement of people, capital and various products has become possible, since the border crossing between states has been significantly simplified.
There are also a number of smaller organizations, such as the European Association of International Trade, etc.
Other large organizations
There are thousands of different associations in the world, but some of them are worthy of special attention, since their activities affect not only individual countries, but also the state of the world as a whole.
Of particular note are:
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
It is a regional organization that was created to increase economic growth, improve social conditions and cultural development. ASEAN includes countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, and others.
- World Health Organization (WHO).
This medical association is a special UN agency. The goal of WHO is to help the nations of the world achieve the best level of health, fight epidemics, eliminate dangerous diseases, and control the quality of medicines. Such an association is very important for the whole world. This is a really big step forward and good support for both developing and developed countries.
- UNESCO.
This association is designed to maintain peace, stability and security through the cooperation of states in the field of culture, education and science. The main activities of this organization are humanitarian, social and natural sciences, culture, education, communication. The organization also fights against discrimination in education, illiteracy, etc.
