The World Bank and Inclusive Policymaking Practices [1980-2014]. A Theory of Change and Stability Through Collective Learning

This dissertation presents a theory of change and stability of the World Bank based on collective learning processes and communities of practice. It is broadly divided into two parts. First, I aim to demonstrate how the Bank changed its policymaking practices between 1980 and 2014 in terms of [1] consultation with NGOs, [2] participation of citizens in design and implementation of projects, and [3] ownership by borrowing governments. This change, I argue, is due to three processes of collective learning: the interactions at the boundaries of communities of practice; and the constant contestation of practices. In the second part of the dissertation, I argue that in the end, this evolution of practice reinforced the Bank technocratic and neoliberal political rationality, thus promoting overall stability in its modus operandi. Building on French philosophers Pierre Dardot and Christian Laval, I seek to explain how change in an international organization (even if meaningful in many ways) can promote stability in its employees’ political rationality. Methodologically, this dissertation is based on a historical process-tracing of the period 1980-2014, using 41 first-hand interpretive interviews with World Bank employees and officials, 80 open source in-depth interviews with senior Bank managers, as well as an archive analysis.Ph.D.2021-06-22 00:00:0