The United States and the politicization of the World Bank

the long version

"Politicization is usually viewed as a political phenomenon, but by referring to the constitutional order structuring cooperation within the World Bank, this important study develops a legal concept of politicization applicable to international organizations. It also considers the legality of using international aid flows as a means of economic coercion and intervention. Because of its financial resources, the World Bank has considerable leverage over those states which borrow from it, but the Bank's Charter prohibits it from engaging in political activity and directs that only economic considerations shall be relevant to its decisions. The author's case studies reveal that the United States has nonetheless been tempted to politicize the Bank by using its weighted voting power there to serve unilaterally determined political purposes. The second part of this study focuses upon legislation passed by the United States Congress setting out how that country's voting power is to be used in the World Bank. It catalogs that legislation and assesses its compatibility with the values, principles and rules of the modern international system. The author uses the concept of politicization to relate the legal issues discussed to the broader political framework of multilalateral cooperation and its special problems."--BOOK JACKET.