The climate crisis prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an international lender of last resort, to implement wholesale reforms to incorporate climate policy into its operations. At the IMF, however, selected countries from the Global North, which are also historically the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, dominate decision-making. Given this, can the Fund implement an […]
By Laurissa Mühlich, Barbara Fritz and William N. Kring Following the COVID-19 pandemic, low- and middle-income countries (LICs and MICs, respectively), and in particular lower MICs, have recovered more slowly than high-income countries (HICs). LICs and MICs continue to struggle with tighter fiscal constraints in a period when they should be scaling up investments to […]
By Gregory T. Chin When much of the world shut-down at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in late 2021, the New Development Bank (NDB) welcomed four nations into its membership, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and Egypt. These additions, with Uruguay pending, were the first new members since the creation of the Bank […]
In July 2015, the New Development Bank (NDB), formerly the BRICS Development Bank, was established by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Since then, the NDB has built an impressive record of milestones, each one laying the groundwork for careful institutional building. Nearly a decade since the founding of the […]
By Marina Zucker-Marques, Laurissa Mühlich, Barbara Fritz, Thomas Goda What once consisted of only the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has become a complex, multilayered and non-coordinated network of institutions aimed at supporting countries during times of financial distress. This network is known as the Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN), and comprises the IMF, regional financial […]
Since the 2007-09 global financial crisis, central bank currency swaps have become a crucial element of the Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN)—the set of institutions and arrangements that backstop countries in financial distress. These swaps, where credit lines between central banks aim to provide liquidity to stabilizing markets during turmoil, have two key advantages: immediate […]
By Leslie Elliott Armijo and Verónica Rubio Vega Sepehr What can an international relations (IR) perspective reveal about cooperation within regional development banks—and vice versa? From the viewpoint of Latin America, the most democratic region within the Global South and the only one where most countries have been independent polities for two centuries, there have […]
What factors help or impede international cooperation within regions of the Global South? A new working paper from Leslie Elliott Armijo and Verónica Rubio Vega Sepehr examines how variations in the geographic scope of a region can result in different types of power (im)balances among members, in turn generating important consequences for both the depth […]
By Jiaqi Lu The phasing down of carbon-based fossil energy in a just and orderly way is essential for mitigating the worst impacts of climate change. To ensure political feasibility, the Paris Agreement incorporates all existing types of measurements for climate commitments, including intensity, emissions peak, absolute emissions mitigation and share of clean energy, and […]
With the adoption of carbon neutrality policies, an increasing number of countries have implemented diverse measures to facilitate the energy transition away from fossil fuels. However, ascertaining the efficacy of these measures towards meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement and carbon neutrality has emerged as a critical concern in recent years. In a new […]