Debt Relief by Means of Expertise or Politics: Understanding the extent to which the IMF’s Intervention in Lebanon is guided by Expertise or Politics

This thesis explores the case of the International Monetary Fund’s bailout agreement with the Lebanese state in 2022 to understand if it is guided by expertise or politics. Looking at two main contested theories on the behavior of International Organizations (IO’s): whether they are autonomous entities where staff have authority and autonomy over their work, or are lack autonomy and are instead pressured by powerful member states. To explore this theoretically, this thesis utilizes the epistemic communities framework to explore the role of the staff in the IMF. Additionally examining asymmetries that may exist within epistemic communities and how this may affect expertise. It also uses the concepts of organizational slippage and risk ignorance to study the influence of member states on the IMF. The methodology followed in this thesis is qualitative and uses a process tracing of the evolution of IMF as an IO and its policies, as well as the IMF’s work in Lebanon. To assess the extent...Show moreThis thesis explores the case of the International Monetary Fund’s bailout agreement with the Lebanese state in 2022 to understand if it is guided by expertise or politics. Looking at two main contested theories on the behavior of International Organizations (IO’s): whether they are autonomous entities where staff have authority and autonomy over their work, or are lack autonomy and are instead pressured by powerful member states. To explore this theoretically, this thesis utilizes the epistemic communities framework to explore the role of the staff in the IMF. Additionally examining asymmetries that may exist within epistemic communities and how this may affect expertise. It also uses the concepts of organizational slippage and risk ignorance to study the influence of member states on the IMF. The methodology followed in this thesis is qualitative and uses a process tracing of the evolution of IMF as an IO and its policies, as well as the IMF’s work in Lebanon. To assess the extent to which the IMF’s bailout is guided by expertise or policies the thesis uses the Lebanon staff-agreement as a case and examines how closely this agreement aligns with the internal policies of the IMF, as well as previous policy recommendations for the Lebanese state issued by the IMF. With close compliance to these policies indicating high autonomy of the staff with their work guided by expertise. Low compliance indicating high influence from member states, and thus being guided by politics.Show less

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Debt Relief by Means of Expertise or Politics: Understanding the extent to which the IMF’s Intervention in Lebanon is guided by Expertise or Politics