Climate Cascades: IOs and the Prioritization of Climate Action

Clark, R. T.; Zucker, Noah

doi:10.1111/ajps.12793

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 81 publications

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“…power in the Fund, and the dynamics make it more likely for the IMF's climate efforts to result in organized hypocrisy (Weaver, 2008). This is especially the case if the most powerful member-states seek to maintain the status quo-in contrast to civil society (Bretton Woods Project, 2022), management (IMF, 2021b), and selected bureaucrats (Clark & Zucker, 2023) that strive for ambitious climate policy. The IMF's everyday work is a function of its underlying power dynamics (e.g., Forster et al, 2022), and this is also true for its impending work on climate change.…”

Section: Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This outcome cannot be separated from the unequal distribution of power in the Fund, and the dynamics make it more likely for the IMF's climate efforts to result in organized hypocrisy (Weaver, 2008). This is especially the case if the most powerful member‐states seek to maintain the status quo—in contrast to civil society (Bretton Woods Project, 2022), management (IMF, 2021b), and selected bureaucrats (Clark & Zucker, 2023) that strive for ambitious climate policy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate policy at the International Monetary Fund: No voice for the vulnerable?

Merling,

Forster

2024

Global Policy

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The climate crisis prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an international lender of last resort, to implement wholesale reforms to incorporate climate policy into its operations. At the IMF, selected countries from the Global North—historically the largest emitters of greenhouse gases—dominate decision‐making. This raises several questions. Can the Fund implement an ambitious and effective climate policy? How are climate‐vulnerable developing countries and their interests represented in everyday decision‐making at the institution? Drawing on scholarship on the political economy and legitimacy of international organizations, we focus on the formal distribution of decision‐making power within the IMF to evaluate the IMF's shift toward climate change. Our empirical analysis of the representation of 57 self‐identifying climate‐vulnerable developing countries (the V20) at the IMF and within its Executive Board shows that these countries, speaking for almost a third of the Fund's membership, command a vote share of merely 5.6%. Our assessment of the Climate Strategy adopted by the IMF amplifies equity concerns over its climate policies and further attests to the disregard of requests by developing countries. Barring meaningful governance reform to increase the voice and representation of climate‐vulnerable developing countries, the IMF's approach to addressing climate change is unlikely to translate into legitimate and effective climate policy.

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Section: Policy Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate policy at the International Monetary Fund: No voice for the vulnerable?

Merling,

Forster

2024

Global Policy

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Bureaucratic Representation and Gender Mainstreaming in International Organizations: Evidence from the World Bank

HEINZEL,

WEAVER,

JORGENSEN

2024

Am Polit Sci Rev

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How does the representation of women in international organizations affect the implementation of gender mainstreaming policies? Many international organizations have adopted policies to prevent gender discrimination in their operations, but their implementation is often lackluster. We argue that these shortcomings appear due to a combination of institutional incentives and an underrepresentation of women in their staff. We test the argument in the case of the World Bank, drawing on highly disaggregated staffing data, an instrumental variable strategy, and an elite survey experiment. Our results show that most staff incorporate at least shallow gender mainstreaming in their projects. Deeper implementation of gender mainstreaming is more likely when women staff supervise projects, hold positions of authority, and are more represented as coworkers. These results contribute to understanding the disconnects between talk and action on mainstreaming policies and inform debates on representation in global governance.

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“Just Theater!”—How Self-Legitimation Practices Can Backfire in International Organizations

Christian

2024

Global Studies Quarterly

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Working in international organizations (IOs) is not always a pleasure. Contradictory external demands make it difficult to do the right thing, constant failures in the field lead to frustration, and hierarchical structures require “emotional labor” on the part of IO staff. While we know that IO leadership therefore engages in self-legitimation practices to strengthen employee motivation and maintain organizational cohesion, we know little about the actual results of these activities. To address this gap, I focus on the perceptions of “ordinary” IO employees. Based on seventy-five in-depth interviews with IO staff in two different IOs, the United Nations (UN) Secretariat and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), I develop a typology of five different staff responses to internal legitimation. I show that leadership’s legitimation efforts can not only result in (i) acceptance and adoption of the given narratives but also lead to (ii) criticism, (iii) toleration, (iv) cynicism, or even (v) exit of IO employees. Thus, ironically, the very leadership activities that are supposed to foster internal stability can also backfire and contribute to the destabilization of the IO. Building on these findings, I discuss two factors that influence IO employees’ perception of self-legitimation practices and are crucial for their success: the credibility of IO leaders and the right balance between glossing over and self-criticism in their legitimation narratives. I conclude by arguing that, contrary to common belief, legitimation and critique are not irreconcilable opposites. Rather, self-criticism can be an integral part of successful legitimation.

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Climate Cascades: IOs and the Prioritization of Climate Action

Cited by 6 publications

References 81 publications

Climate policy at the International Monetary Fund: No voice for the vulnerable?

Climate policy at the International Monetary Fund: No voice for the vulnerable?

Bureaucratic Representation and Gender Mainstreaming in International Organizations: Evidence from the World Bank

“Just Theater!”—How Self-Legitimation Practices Can Backfire in International Organizations

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