This paper analyzes one of the current debates on the issue of the independence of international organizations in relation to their host states in the field of international politics using the lens of social constructivism. The study draws on Weber's bureaucratic approach to establish IOs as independent actors. It is argued that the IO's independent rational legal powers, control over information and expertise make them independent bureaucracies. To evaluate this line of reasoning, counterarguments to the materialist perspective are critically discussed and gaps in the literature are highlighted. The article concludes that the realist and neoliberal perspectives are theories of states and state behavior, hence they remain state-centric and overlook the bureaucratic nature of IOs that gives them power. Therefore, to understand the independent power of IOs, they must be considered as bureaucracies.