A bottom-up approach to international cooperation: econocrats' role in compliance with IMF agreements
type: CreativeWork
description: "Modern international relations is a system of hierarchically-organized sovereign entities interacting with each other in the absence of hierarchical structures between them. Building on this observation, Realists and -to some degree- Neoliberal institutionalists emphasize the central role of nation-states as unitary actors in international relations theory. They argue that the anarchic nature of the system forces sovereign states to act alike, and therefore domestic institutions have no relevance for the question of how states conduct their foreign policies. This logic has been brought under scrutiny by scholars who seek more nuanced explanations for variation in states' responses to similar external shocks, their propensity to fight or cooperate, and their strategies in international negotiations. One particular research question that would benefit from relaxing the unitary actor assumption involves the effects of intervention in domestic politics by international institutions. Bearing few tangible means to influence domestic politics at their disposal, international institutions might facilitate cooperation by using economic assistance or membership as rewards for certain countries. Others, for pragmatic reasons, might take an indirect path towards change in state behavior. These institutions recognize that implementation of an agreement does not necessarily follow a top-down pattern. Instead, various domestic actors get involved in different stages of cooperation alongside the executive who sits at the international negotiation table. As demonstrated by the international cooperation literature, it is possible for international institutions to find allies in domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and interest groups that would oversee the implementation of agreements. Building on this literature, this dissertation focuses on another important domestic actor whose role in international cooperation has long been ignored. Bureaucrats are central to the analy…
abstract: "Modern international relations is a system of hierarchically-organized sovereign entities interacting with each other in the absence of hierarchical structures between them. Building on this observation, Realists and -to some degree- Neoliberal institutionalists emphasize the central role of nation-states as unitary actors in international relations theory. They argue that the anarchic nature of the system forces sovereign states to act alike, and therefore domestic institutions have no relevance for the question of how states conduct their foreign policies. This logic has been brought under scrutiny by scholars who seek more nuanced explanations for variation in states' responses to similar external shocks, their propensity to fight or cooperate, and their strategies in international negotiations. One particular research question that would benefit from relaxing the unitary actor assumption involves the effects of intervention in domestic politics by international institutions. Bearing few tangible means to influence domestic politics at their disposal, international institutions might facilitate cooperation by using economic assistance or membership as rewards for certain countries. Others, for pragmatic reasons, might take an indirect path towards change in state behavior. These institutions recognize that implementation of an agreement does not necessarily follow a top-down pattern. Instead, various domestic actors get involved in different stages of cooperation alongside the executive who sits at the international negotiation table. As demonstrated by the international cooperation literature, it is possible for international institutions to find allies in domestic non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and interest groups that would oversee the implementation of agreements. Building on this literature, this dissertation focuses on another important domestic actor whose role in international cooperation has long been ignored. Bureaucrats are central to the analy…
author: Ucaray-Mangitli, Burcu
language: en
keywords: IMF, bureaucracy, economics, delegation, International Monetary Fund, central bank, treasury, finance, econocrat, conditionality, compliance, implementation, cooperation, autonomy, socialization
date published: 2016-11-10T18:27:15Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:26:35Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/92883