The failure of the IMF, World Bank and WTO to represent and further the interests of the developing world, through their one-size-fits-all approach, has lead to the collapse of trade negations, widespread criticism of their effectiveness, and bitter international protest. Many countries are rejecting the neoliberal ideologies of the ‘unholy trinity’ with intensifying calls for their reform or decommissioning.
The World Bank and IMF have repositioned themselves as
fighters of poverty and corruption, leading to debilitating adjustment programs in Africa. Passivity in the face of global financial meltdown
now shows that these organisations must rediscover their original mandate, argues Hossein
Askari.
In a bid to secure their interests at the WTO, rich countries are attempting to undermine the developmental components in talks on agriculture and cotton subsidies, causing great concern amongst developing countries, activists and NGOs, writes Ravi Kanth Devarakonda.
The failure of development reflects a crisis in the economic theory that has driven the World Bank's policies since 1980, largely due to a set of neoliberal economists who
gained influence at the Bank in the late 1970s. It is now time to go beyond the Bank's neoliberal agenda that has driven it for far too long, argues Howard Stein
The international financial institutions are
succumbing to the
pressures of globalization, recent trade
disputes and competition from Asia. As they desperately try to regain credibility and power, a debate over the best route to development has returned along with alternative
approaches that are springing up around the world. By Robin Broad and John Cavanagh
The EU's Economic Partnership Agreements on trade for 76 of the world’s poorest countries (the African,
Caribbean and Pacific nations) pose as “instruments for
development”, but in fact threaten to beggar
them, writes George Monbiot.
Regarded
as one of the leading experts on Philippine trade and agriculture
issues, Riza Bernabe was interviewed on the latest
collapse of the WTO "Doha Round" trade negotiations. By Walden Bello.
Where once they used gunboats
and sepoys, the rich nations now use chequebooks and lawyers to seize
food from the hungry. The scramble for resources has begun, but - in
the short term at any rate - we will hardly notice, writes George Monbiot.
