Refashioning the Role of the IFIs: How Changes to the Global Balance of Power May Bring the Bretton Woods Institutions to an Existential Crossroads

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Castle Miller
Keyword(s):  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Bretton Woods ◽  
Bretton Woods Institutions

scholarly journals Rethinking Sovereign Debt: Pleading for Human Rights, the Rule of Law, and Economic Sense

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-262
Author(s):  
Kunibert Raffer
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Sovereign Debt ◽  
Debt Management ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Bretton Woods ◽  
Multilateral Lending ◽  
Bretton Woods Institutions

Abstract Reviewing and commenting on Lienau’s book Rethinking Sovereign Debt, Politics, Reputation, and Legitimacy, this paper agrees with most of her points, aiming at supporting and complementing rather than contradicting her line of argument. It wants to corroborate her points as well as to bring up aspects that the book does not discuss. It presents two main comments on the more civilized treatment of sovereign debtors before WWII, and on the role of the Bretton Woods Institutions after 1945 that – as Lienau correctly notes – changed the positon of debtors fundamentally. The paper shows that going further back into history than the book did, namely sovereign debts in the nineteenth century, strongly corroborates Lienau’s line of argument regarding the period before WWII. The paper complements the role of the Bretton Woods Institutions with further facts, arguing that their strongly statist view is also self-serving and helpful to support multilateral lending practices violating these institutions’ statutes. Finally, the new tendency back to a non-statist regime she rightly observes is commented on, pointing out that present debt management in the eurozone constitutes a considerable backlash.

After Victory

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. John Ikenberry
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Politics ◽  
World Order ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Big Bang ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Napoleonic Wars ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
The Cold War

The end of the Cold War was a “big bang” reminiscent of earlier moments after major wars, such as the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 and the end of the world wars in 1919 and 1945. But what do states that win wars do with their newfound power, and how do they use it to build order? This book examines postwar settlements in modern history, arguing that powerful countries do seek to build stable and cooperative relations, but the type of order that emerges hinges on their ability to make commitments and restrain power. The book explains that only with the spread of democracy in the twentieth century and the innovative use of international institutions—both linked to the emergence of the United States as a world power—has order been created that goes beyond balance of power politics to exhibit “constitutional” characteristics. Blending comparative politics with international relations, and history with theory, the book will be of interest to anyone concerned with the organization of world order, the role of institutions in world politics, and the lessons of past postwar settlements for today.

Global Economic Management in the 1990s

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
International Economy ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Poor Countries ◽  
Global Management ◽  
Bretton Woods ◽  
Income Gap ◽  
The Us ◽  
New Vision ◽  
Bretton Woods Institutions

In the chapter, Haq considers the challenges for global economic management that the nineties may bring. He highlights five distinct trends that have emerged in the international economy in the previous quarter of a century: the globalization of markets, decline in the influence of the US, emerging importance of China and Soviet Union, and narrowing of income gap between rich and poor countries. In the light of these trends, Haq stresses on the need for a new vision for Bretton Woods institutions to serve a greater role in global management in the decade of the nineties.

Unipolarity

2008 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Jervis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Structural Analysis ◽  
Current System ◽  
Nuclear Proliferation ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The United States

In analyzing the current unipolar system, it is useful to begin with structure. No other state or plausible coalition can challenge the unipole's core security, but this does not mean that all its values are safe or that it can get everything that it wants. Contrary to what is often claimed, standard balance of power arguments do not imply that a coalition will form to challenge the unipole. Realism also indicates that rather than seeking to maintain the system, the unipole may seek further expansion. To understand the current system requires combining structural analysis with an appreciation of the particular characteristics of the current era, the United States, and its leaders. Doing so shows further incentives to change the system and highlights the role of nuclear proliferation in modifying existing arrangements.

International Child Welfare: Deconstructing UNICEF's Country Programmes

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan E. Laird
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Agenda Setting ◽  
Social Organisation ◽  
Bretton Woods ◽  
International Child ◽  
The Family ◽  
Bretton Woods Institutions

There has been exhaustive scrutiny of the policies of the Bretton Woods institutions and the United Nations Population Fund. UNICEF, despite a prominent role in agenda setting for children's welfare in developing countries, has not been subject to comparable scrutiny. This paper argues that the Country Programmes promulgated by UNICEF to improve children's welfare reflect ethnocentric conceptualisations of the family. As a case study, Ghana's Country Programme 2001–2005 is considered in detail. Anthropological studies are adduced to highlight underlying ethnocentric assumptions around social organisation. The ramifications of these assumptions are then considered.

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