The World Bank Inspection Panel -
Research-Led Teaching
The project seminar started in the winter semester 2015/16 and involves independent research into cases that have been heard by the World Bank's complaints body, the Inspection Panel - i.e. projects such as dams against which those affected have filed complaints because the World Bank's social and environmental standards were not met. The Inspection Panel (IP) has been hailed as a major step forward with the introduction of accountability of international organizations to the people. The question to be examined in this seminar is: Can the World Bank live up to these expectations? The initial two-semester seminar has developed into a regular course, from which 12 case studies and 2 master's theses have already been published here.
The first step is an in-depth examination of the World Bank itself: its history, institutional structure and decision-making mechanisms, as well as the criticism and protests it has triggered.