Abstract
The eradication of extreme poverty in fragile states is one of the central problems of global governance at
the present time. Development of these states is hindered by instability, weak public and social institutions or
ongoing conflicts and violence. The World Bank is a key partner of fragile states, which account for almost a
third of the world’s population.
This article is a continuation of research exploring the evolution of conceptual and practical approaches
by the World Bank to cooperation with fragile states. Its methodology is based on a multilevel analysis of the
securitization of foreign aid as proposed by J. Lind and J. Howell of the London School of Economics. The
main focus of this examination is on the dynamics of the change of scale and structure of the World Bank’s aid
to fragile states in comparison with global armed trends of providing aid to fragile states as well.
This article concludes that statements about the priority of the Bank’s work in fragile states have not yet
been realized in practice. The Bank remains committed to the standard approach to working with this group
of recipients, which involves serious risks. The World Bank leans toward supporting projects in fragile states
which increases volatility and reduces aid predictability. This trend undermines the development potentials of
recipient states.
Attention is drawn to political factors influencing aid flows to fragile states and particularly to the
tendency of increasing the share of aid provided to fragile states through multi donor trust funds rather than
through the mechanisms of the International Development Association (IDA). This trend indicates that the
Bank is no longer a central point of aid distribution to the recipients, pointing to the lack of trust of donor states
in the existing mechanisms and rules of aid distribution. It also reveals the expanding role of donors’ strategic
interests in the process of choosing recipients of World Bank aid.
Citation
ID:
205366
Ref Key:
a.2018internationalthe