Diplomacy and international organisations

It is neither legitimate nor effective in regulating the world economy

The World Bank fails to respond seriously to multipolarity, a DIIS Report on The World Bank and the emerging world order demonstrates. A year ago, World Bank President Robert Zoellick announced that fundamental reforms in the balance of power in the Bank were under way. In fact, very little happened. Voting power reform remains urgently necessary. Without such reform, deliberation and decision making will most likely gradually move to other more informal and exclusive fora - to the detriment of multilateralism

The World Bank fails to respond seriously to multipolarity, a DIIS Report on The World Bank and the emerging world order demonstrates. A year ago, World Bank President Robert Zoellick announced that fundamental reforms in the balance of power in the Bank were under way. In fact, very little happened. Voting power reform remains urgently necessary. Without such reform, deliberation and decision making will most likely gradually move to other more informal and exclusive fora - to the detriment of multilateralism

The G20 claims that its "economic weight and broad membership gives it a high degree of legitimacy". However, in a setting where the great majority of countries have no voice and influence, any claim to 'representational' legitimacy is less than convincing.

The Annual Meeting of the IMF unfolding in Washington DC this week is likely to sanction the biggest changes in decades in how the organization is governed, possibly reducing Europe’s influence