ABSTRACT |International financial institutions are powerful players that constrain the policy choices of many (developing) countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)—an international financial institution providing loans to countries in economic trouble—is one of the most powerful agents of policy reform. While a vast body of scholarship demonstrates that the IMF promotes market-liberalizing reforms, we do not adequately understand how this affects human security. Does the IMF help prevent state failure through cheap loans and advice on governance, or precipitate state collapse through conditions that adversely affect state capacity and social capital? These are important questions because in many developing countries, state failure often leads to coup d’états, civil violence, and refugee outflows. Using statistical analyses and case studies, this project will uncover the mechanisms through which IMF programs affect human security. The results will help foster a new research agenda on the security implications of IMF interventions, while also challenging established International Relations literature focusing on states as key global governance actors.
BIO | BERNHARD REINSBERG IS LECTURER IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW. HE ALSO IS AFFILIATED TO THE CENTRE FOR BUSINESS RESEARCH AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. HE HOLDS A PHD IN POLITICAL SCIENCE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH, AN MA IN COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT ETH ZURICH AND BA DEGREES IN POLITICAL SCIENCE (FREIE UNIVERSITÄT BERLIN) AND MATHEMATICS (UNIVERSITY IN HAGEN). HIS RESEARCH BROADLY COVERS THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS—SUCH AS THE WORLD BANK AND THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND—AND SEEKS TO CONTRIBUTE TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT DRIVES THEIR BEHAVIOR AND WHEN THEIR DEVELOPMENT INTERVENTIONS ARE EFFECTIVE
ORGANIZED BY POLITICAL ECONOMY RESEARCH GROUP (PERG) FACEBOOK: HTTPS://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CEUPERG/, TWITTER: HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/CEUPERG