The World Bank

10/17/13

The World Bank is international financial organization that strives to reduce poverty in developing countries through loans. Through collaboration with nation-states, The World Bank follows a strict criteria that dictates whether or not that developing country qualifies for a loan. This organization wants to combat extreme hunger/poverty and HIV/AIDS diseases as well as promote environmental sustainability and maternal health. The World Bank also require nation-states to have universal primary education and they advocate countries to tackle child mortality rates. The World Bank was created in 1944 and is based in the United States. The United Kingdom also has a major role in the decision-making, but is more linked to the International Monetary Fund. Together, those two nations are the most powerful of negotiating terms. France was the first country to receive a loan from the World Bank over Poland and Chile, who also requested assistance at the time. A common tendency of the World Bank is to closely monitor and ensure that the country they lend money to meets their conditions. 

The World Bank is extremely influential. Countries that receive the loans could be subjected to manipulation of their government policy. In the past, The World Bank has been involved in demanding privatization and deregulation of certain issues that they believe is to the benefit of that nation-state. The United States has an authoritative role in this organization which poses the question of the legitimacy on the decision-making. Overall, the World Bank's mission is to aid developing countries on their path to becoming a developed country. 

I believe the nation-state is becoming weaker and weaker. Nation-states have little relevance to executive decisions nor much power in enforcing them. The power lies in these organizations that bypass legislation and operate on it's own terms. Nation-states are hindering global economic integration through transaction costs and regulatory processes. They present an obstacle to a unified global market through different currencies. That is why I believe they are becoming obsolete and more assimilation will occur in the near future.