Hierarchy, hypocrisy and accountability in the Inter-American Development Bank

Abstract

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or Bank) is the largest Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) serving Latin America and the Caribbean; indeed, the global pandemic reinforced its role as counter-cyclical lender critical for international development. This article examines how the United States (US) established an accountability norm for the IDB to provide recourse to people affected by Bank-financed projects. I argue that hierarchy between the IDB’s primary shareholder, the US and Borrower Member Countries (BMCs) explains why the norm continues to be espoused but not enacted, a decoupling of rhetoric and action that is evidence of ‘organised hypocrisy’. The IDB has one of the most hierarchical governance arrangements of any MDB with the US as the dominant shareholder. This creates a puzzle as to why the US has been able to establish an accountability norm for the MDBs, but it has not been effective in holding to account the bank it dominates the most. Hierarchy in the Bank enables the US to direct policy but collectively BMCs can mediate how it is enacted. Despite the pandemic slowing the accountability mechanism’s operations, there is a continuity of evidence showing the gap between the IDB’s accountability talk and actions resulting from subordinate member state interference, which demonstrates how hierarchy between the US and Borrowers influences International Organisation behaviour.

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