International organizations are a valuable tool for the institutionalization of international relations and, together with states, contribute greatly to the phenomenon of international organization. It is worth noting that international organization is not a phenomenon limited to the modern era, nor is it simply a process that follows the creation of the modern state. On the contrary, international organization standardizes and reshapes over time the terms by which organized political communities communicate and interact with each other. Today, political communities are organized according to the state model, but in the past they were organized differently and with different degrees of political cohesion, such as city-states and empires.

Similarly, the precursors of international organizations can be traced back to the ancient Greek institution of amphictyonies. The multiplicity with which political communities evolve and develop channels of communication between them highlights the scope and flexibility of international organization and the importance of studying and researching it both in an academic context and in the realm of political practice.

While states organize human political communities around ethnic characteristics, common traditions and values, and of course history and culture, international organizations shape the institutional spaces and rules by which states harmonize their behavior and pursue policies to achieve common goals or mitigate their differences. And despite the fact that the demand for international peace and security, after two devastating world wars, provided the matrix for the establishment of modern international organizations, which was institutionally realized with the founding of the United Nations, the creation of international organizations, large and small, with more or less powers, responsibilities, and technical infrastructure, became a necessary precondition for more effective international organization in various areas of common interest throughout the 20th century.

Through collaborative actions, and sometimes even competitive ones, international organizations now complement the shortcomings and correct the deficiencies of the actions and policies of states in the international environment, thus providing a reliable support for international organization, but also being burdened with the role of scapegoat for the negative or simply unpleasant consequences for which governments are responsible but naturally do not wish to be held accountable.

At the same time, we must recognize the critical role of the state in the evolution of international organization, and especially in the dissemination and development of the organizational model of international organizations. [...]
The systematic study of international organizations and their teaching in Greek universities was accompanied by the interest in our country's accession to the European Communities and the need for diplomatic handling of Turkish expansionism after the invasion of Cyprus and the projection of claims in the Aegean Sea. [...]