To what extent do organizations like the IMF, WTO, and World Bank challenge the nation state’s ability to shape domestic economic and social policy?

On paper, the World Bank has great potential to assist all members of our increasingly smaller world. However, the World Bank is also an example of when history is written by the victors. In 1944, members of the allied countries and other nations which had risen to power during the Second

Over the years, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has prided itself as the central element in the international economic management system across the world. This system incorporates other international bodies such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund as well as a series of other regional trade regimes that are growing. Collectively, these structures provide a mechanism that addresses international economic interdependence as well enhancing economic interactions that offer the promise of maximizing social welfare across the globe. These aspects have been brought about due to the focus given in the post-Cold War era where international relations have evolved beyond a narrow emphasis on politico-military affairs.

The world is undergoing a highly volatile atmosphere, both socially and politically. What is at the forefront of this volatility? Global inequality. For many decades, groups of the world’s population, particularly in the poorest areas, are continuing to get squeezed by the weight by the radically uneven distribution of income. When this problem extends to globalization, it is heavily ambiguous in terms of its long-term implications, socially and politically as well. When one explores the fascinating limits of globalization, it is possible to consider why many in the world’s population have various reservations about its real outreach on a worldwide scale. When considering the reach of globalization and its increasingly apparent correlation with income inequality at–large, one gets the sense that because there are limited amount of alternatives at the amount in the eyes of the disillusioned and disproportionately affected, a resistance is developing towards some of the elements.

Saskia Sassen argues that for one to understand the contemporary globalization, it is crucial for an individual to examine how the historical assemblages of authority, territory and right have been remade and reworked on. (Sassen, 2006) The ideas of Saskia Sassen, a leading globalization scholar, are helpful in the analysis of the debate about the movement of refugees in the wake of the Paris attacks. Saskia stipulates that something really big is happening behind globalization. (Sassen, 2006) She is interested at the point where globalization gets messy. Although globalization is good for the economy, there are "other things" that get associated with it eliciting a debate on the opening and closing borders for the refugees in the wake of Paris attack.

Globalization and Its Discontents is an incredibly easy read that provides remarkable insight to some of the world largest public institutions. Joseph E. Stiglitz takes the reader on a journey into this world via his own personal experiences as the chief economist at the World Bank in the 1990s. He draws on examples from the East Asia crisis, the transition from command to market economy in Russia, as well as Latin America to support his argument for change in global public institutions. At first glance, it would be expected that the piece would focus entirely on globalization and the potential problems that are experienced from

One of the most pressing economic problems of our time is the objectionable direction taken by the leading regulating institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank. This issue is addressed in Globalization and Its Discontents, and is thoroughly analyzed throughout the next pages. It was written by Joseph E. Stiglitz, (born February 9, 1943), an American economist and author. He is also the former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank. He is known for his critical view of the modern management of globalization, free-market economists and some international institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. He was born in Gary, Indiana and received his PHD from MIT in 1967,

The making of multilateralism is becoming inevitable due to globalisation. The WTO and its rules advocate an open multilateral trading system as it allows trade to be expanding and managing (Cavangnah & Mander 2004). The multilateral system of the United Nations and its related organisations provides the foundation of global policies regarding the areas of development, finance, trade and internal peace and security, as well as in a variety of social and technical fields. Its declarations reflect universally shared values, and universal participation provides the

The World Bank, created after World War II by the superpowers, is supposed to be an anti-poverty bank. The idea behind it was to help people out of poverty, through projects, and give them an economic opportunity. The projects were mainly concentrated on less developed areas in developing countries, where the World Bank provides loans for capital programs. The World Bank Group states their mission as to end extreme poverty within a generation and boost shared prosperity. After 71 years today, more than 60% of the African population depend on land for subsistence (FAO, 2015), the most it has ever been. This puts into question why these world problems not only remain, but increase. Poverty is persisting around the globe, and African countries are among the lowest ranked in Gross Domestic Product per capita. Despite the mission of ending poverty, a new report showed the worldwide destructive legacy of World Bank projects (Prupis, 2015).

Throughout this section of the class, the IMF and the World Bank have been studied extensively. All students have come away with different ideas about these two organizations. In the following paragraphs, I will attempt to explain my own thoughts on the IMF and the World Bank. Mainly, that their practices are insufficient for accountability and do threaten the sovereignty of certain nations. I will also attempt to explain why I think this is the case.

Furthermore, critics say; “the IMF frequently argues for the same economic policies regardless of the situation.” (Pettinger, 2008) The IMF blindly imposed the same “conditionality’s” to all its loans. What policies might have worked for one country might make matters even worse in others.

Unfortunately the failed experiment of neoliberalism is not merely of historical or academic interest, since it is ongoing. The prevailing orthodoxy in the economics profession, finance and economic ministries in low- and middle-income countries, and the global media from which many policy-makers draw their inspiration and fears, remains much the same as it was twenty or even thirty years ago. The IMF, the World Bank, and the WTO are still largely pursuing policies in the same direction, and although they have met increasing resistance and have lost considerable clout in middle-income countries, they are still the most powerful and influential institutions of global governance.

From a Marxist’s standpoint, international economic Institutions have no advantages whatsoever. Chimni argues that the growing international institutions constitute an imperial global state in the making (Chimni, 2004). Chimni explains that creating a global state fulfills the interests of a transnational capitalist class within the international realm at the expense of the social classes in the developing and underdeveloped countries (Chimni, 2004). Chimni criticizes the institutions’ calls for cooperation and interdependence. He argues that institutions affect the sovereignty of states, leaving developing countries unable to control their domestic affairs (Chimni, 2004). He mentions that reforms are essential to face the capitalist dominance of international institutions. He concludes that with the help of a powerful global social movement, change is possible (Chimni, 2004).

As a consequence of economic globalization, industry policies tend to modify. For example, nowadays there is a tendency towards privatization and deregulation. Therefore, the role of national governments has been neglected to a certain extent, because companies become private and markets deregulated.

The World Bank has admitted “shortcomings” in its protections for people displaced by projects the bank supports. It says it is working to improve its policies and how it enforces them. The bank also says protecting people in the way of big projects is a “cornerstone” of its efforts to “end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity.” In Kenya, the World Bank’s in-house Inspection Panel found the bank violated its policies by failing to do enough to protect the Sengwer, an indigenous

Since 1945 the world has evolved immensely, with great power changes and ever-changing economies. Economic activity, in regards to expanded global trade and monetary policies being formed, with the increased communication technology and globalization, has created a widespread global interdependence. Nations rely more now than ever on other nation-states for trade purposes to maintain a consistent cohesion of their economies. With increased global interdependence came a need for institutions to manage and control the actions between nation-states and expand economies into other outlets globally that were seen as foreign such as Asia and some parts of Europe .