| In the post-Cold War context of the late 1980s and early 1990s, aid to developing countries has become increasingly tied to issues of democratization and good governance as these issues are now seen as intrinsically linked to economic development.;This is a case study of decision-making in an international organization, using qualitative methods, including the analysis of a variety of World Bank documents, supplemented by interviews with Bank staff members.;The realist, functionalist and organization theory perspectives do not provide a complete explanation for the Bank's approach to governance issues. This study develops an alternative "process approach" which involves focusing on the iterative means by which a particular policy is developed to address a particular problem or issue.;This process approach led to the following finding: (1) while governance issues were first identified within the Africa Region Department of the Bank as a result of internal evaluation processes; (2) the Executive Directors provided the necessary impetus for the formulation of an official approach to governance issues; (3) the actual formulation of such an official approach is the result of a great deal of internal "massaging" to develop an approach acceptable to all within the organization and to the Executive Directors; (4) operationalization of that official approach has been unsystematic across regions as well as across the various dimensions of governance; and (5) while governance is now a well established theme within the Bank, its actual meaning is still changing.;This research focuses on the World Bank and its approach to governance issues in developing countries. The World Bank finds itself in a difficult position. On the one hand, the Bank is prohibited by its Articles of Agreement from interfering in the internal political affairs of member countries. On the other hand, it has become clear that governance conditions in borrowing countries have a significant impact on project performance and on the performance of the economy as a whole and should therefore be relevant to the Bank's work. |
