Globalization of Accountability

One of the phenomena in the globalization process in the 20th century was the creation and steady empowerment of International Economic Organizations (IEOs) making them important actors in the performance of governance tasks. This shift of power, however, has not been accompanied by the creation of equally effective forms of accountability as on the state level. In view of that, the idea has evolved that means of accountability could prevent the IEOs possibly unrestricted exercise of power. Against this background, this thesis discusses, first, the concept of accountability; second, the current status of accountability in the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO; third, the potential of Compliance, Inspection and Evaluation Mechanisms (CIEMs) for the accountability of IEOs. It is addressed to everybody interested in grasping the concept of accountability by assessing the accountability gaps of the world s major IEOs. At the same time, this thesis is of great interest for researchers on the topic as it both analyzes the World Bank s and IMF s best known accountability mechanisms and offers some innovative solutions for further improvement.