The Global Governance of Ideas: International Organisations as Agents of Policy Diffusion

政府间组织(IGO)是传播思想的关键参与者，依靠其广泛持有的合法性，通过胁迫和说服相结合的方式影响世界各地的政策制定者。他们在经济政策、卫生安全和环境保护等各种问题上制定规则和规范。鉴于政府间组织对国内政策决策的深远影响，这些机构所代表的思想是当前政策辩论的核心。然而，尽管学术界一直在关注，但人们对政府间组织向国内政策制定者传播思想的途径仍缺乏足够的了解。这些想法是如何传播的，这些想法是在何时何地实施的，为什么这些想法在一些国家扎根，但在另一些国家却没有？这个项目将是第一批系统审查政府间组织技术援助特派团活动的项目之一。三个核心研究问题是：1.为什么政府间组织提供技术援助？2.政府间组织的技术援助如何向国内官员传播思想？3.政府间组织的技术援助对国内政策有什么影响？为了回答这些问题，本项目借鉴了国际关系和政策研究的最新理论进展。实证研究的重点将是政府间组织：国际货币基金组织(IMF)，这是发展中国家主要关心的问题的中央知识中心，如财政和金融部门政策。国际货币基金组织提供了一个“战略研究网站”，为政策规范向全球各国的传播提供了一个独特的分析视角。IMF在全球经济治理中的核心地位，使其成为撰写与社会科学学者相关的理论贡献的首选。分析将仔细审查IMF技术援助活动的内部运作，这些活动占到IMF运营预算的四分之一，并免费提供给提出请求的成员国。为了研究这一现象，该项目将创建货币基金组织技术援助的数据集，将1990年至2019年期间所有活动的信息系统化，并使用先进的量化方法进行分析。该项目还将对两个经常接受技术援助的国家--肯尼亚和卢旺达--进行深入的案例研究，对与国内官员和货币基金组织工作人员的访谈进行定性分析。研究结果将有助于就政府间组织传播政策思想的学术辩论，以及关于如何改革全球治理的政策辩论。这其中有什么利害关系？政府间组织通常会引起争议，因为它们拥有更明显的正式合规机制--比如各国政府必须实施政策改革，才能从国际金融机构获得贷款。但在向国内政策制定者提供常规技术援助的背景下，也悄悄施加了深远的影响。这些司空见惯的劝说行为隐藏在公众的监督之下，全球治理机构也对此不负责任。因此，该项目致力于为政府间组织如何提供技术援助以加强公众对其行动的监督和问责的循证政策辩论奠定基础。该项目旨在最大限度地影响三类受益者：学者、政策制定者和民间社会。为了有效地接触到学术受益者，该项目将依靠学术文章、一本书、会议组织和出席以及一个阅读小组。为了实现非学术影响，该项目将依靠政策简报、互动网站和流行媒体上的文章。为了实现这些目标，该项目还将依靠其专家咨询委员会以及皇家霍洛威政治和国际关系部的机构支持。

Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) are key actors in the spread of ideas, relying on their widely held legitimacy to influence policymakers around the world through a combination of coercion and persuasion. They devise rules and norms on issues as diverse as economic policy, health security, and environmental protection. Given the profound influence IGOs have on domestic policy decisions, the ideas these bodies represent are at the centre of current policy debates. Nonetheless, despite persistent academic attention, the avenues through which ideas travel from IGOs to domestic policymakers remain insufficiently understood. How do these ideas diffuse, where and when are these ideas implemented, and why do ideas become embedded in some countries but not others?This project will be among the first to systematically examine the activities of IGO technical assistance missions. The three core research questions are:1. Why do IGOs provide technical assistance?2. How does IGO technical assistance spread ideas to domestic officials?3. What effect does IGO technical assistance have on domestic policy?To answer these questions, this project draws on recent theoretical advances in international relations and policy studies.The focus of the empirical research will be the IGO underpinning the world economic order: the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a central hub of knowledge on issues of key concern to developing countries, like fiscal and financial sector policies. The IMF presents a 'strategic research site', offering a unique analytical lens into the spread of policy norms to countries across the globe. The centrality of the organisation in global economic governance makes it a prime candidate for developing theoretical contributions that will be relevant to scholars across the social sciences.The analysis will scrutinise the inner workings of IMF technical assistance activities, which account for one-quarter of the organisation's operating budget and is provided free-of-charge to requesting member countries. To study this phenomenon, the project will create a dataset of IMF technical assistance that systematizes information on all activities between 1990 and 2019, to be analysed using advanced quantitative methods. The project will also generate in-depth case studies of two frequent recipients of technical assistance-Kenya and Rwanda-by employing qualitative analyses of interviews with domestic officials and IMF staff. The research findings will contribute to academic debates on the diffusion of policy ideas by IGOs, and to policy debates on how to reform global governance. What is at stake? IGOs typically court controversy because of the more conspicuous formal compliance mechanisms at their disposal-like the policy reforms governments must implement to obtain access to loans from international financial institutions. But profound influence is also exerted quietly in the background in providing domestic policymakers with routine technical assistance. These commonplace acts of persuasion are hidden from public scrutiny, and global governance institutions have been unaccountable for them. Consequently, this project aspires to lay the foundations for evidence-based policy debates on how IGOs provide technical assistance in order to increase public oversight and accountability for their actions.The project is designed with a view to maximise impact for three groups of beneficiaries: academics, policymakers, and civil society. To effectively reach academic beneficiaries, the project will rely on academic articles, a book, conference organisation and attendance, and a reading group. To achieve non-academic impact, the project will rely on policy briefs, an interactive website, and pieces in popular media. To meet these objectives, the project will also draw on its Expert Advisory Board, and the institutional support of Royal Holloway's Department of Politics and International Relations.