Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 06/2014

Development: Advancement through International Organizations

Rohinton Medhora, David Malone

May 2014

Centre for International Governance Innovation

Abstract

The familiar world of international organizations concerned with the advancement of development has been upended by two phenomena: the emergence of sustained economic success in the developing world, and the international financial and economic crisis that has gripped much of the industrialized world since 2008. This paper examines the history of international organizations focusing on development, including the Bretton Woods organizations, the UN system and the regional development banks, and considers the parallel emergence of foundations and the role of international development actors. The authors conclude that the prognosis for organizations caught in this transitional stage in global economic governance can only be uncertain.