Accountability in International Organizations: the case of World Bank Inspection Panel (1993-2015)

Abstract

This paper argues that the concept of social accountability can be useful to explain the transparency and accountability policies adopted by international organizations (IOs). Social accountability is understood as the contributions of civil society actors in the functioning of IOs. In international politics, the recent development of IOs' accountability mechanisms has been challenged by the absence of a world government and the impact of inter-state power relations on the decision-making process of international organizations. The presence of civil society actors can reduce the gap between international organizations and citizens affected by their activities. This article resorts to a specific case study: the World Bank Inspection Panel. The analysis revealed the role of civil society actors in the creation, operation and outcomes of this institution. This analysis shows that the concept of social accountability can be adequate to explain not only the Inspection Panel, but other mechanisms recently developed by international organizations.

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“…Civil society organizations, as agents of such pressure, play an important role in pushing international institutions to be more accountable and transparent. This phenomenon can be observed in the case of the World Bank, which has included the NGOs' participation in formulating and monitoring projects since 1995, during the administration of James Wolfensohn (1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005) (Pereira et al, 2017;Guimarães, 2012).…”

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“…No hierarchical relationship exists, but an indirect line of authority is present via another party that has hierarchical relationship to account giver (Pereira et al, 2017).…”

“…Neither a hierarchical relationship nor a relationship of equals between account holder and account giver exists. The principal can be a single organization representing a set of actors (e.g., Civil Society Organizations) or can be diffused (e.g., "the electorate") (Pereira et al, 2017).…”

Deconcentrated global governance, transnational administration, and the public administration discipline

“…The Inspection Panel is an outcome of the Morse Commission report and associated NGO-led advocacy. The Panel can review approved Bank projects that may have violated the Bank's operational or bureaucratic procedures and in doing so, may harm project recipients (Moloney 2011;Pereira et al, 2017;WorldBank, 2003). This Panel affects TA in three ways.…”

“…This may not be an uncommon complaint motivation. In one analysis of Inspection Panel cases, nearly 60% of the cases came from projects implemented within non-democratic states (Pereira 2017). This transnational administrative act bypasses the World Bank and the implementing state.…”