The meaning of political science is often restricted to the state, government, and everyday politics. However, it goes beyond that. We as humans share various relationships. What do we do when conflicts arise in these relationships? How do we resolve them? The Socratic dialectical method or Habermas’ idea of deliberation provides a solution. It says conflicts are better resolved through dialogue rather than domination. Hence, it tells us how to talk in a dialectical manner. It is the process of reasoning together. For instance, when your father asks you to aim for a government job, but you want to become a content creator, you do not totally oppose each other. Instead, you engage rationally: Why is a government job important? Maybe because it provides security and financial stability. But being a content creator might give you creative freedom. So you decide to take a government job but also start your creator journey simultaneously — maybe by vlogging your day as a government employee...
Source: Internet
42 countries along with the United States of America and the United Kingdom meet at a small town of New Hampshire, Bretton Woods. The event was United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference and from there 3 instructions of global governance emerged. It was actually only 2 the IMF and IBRD(World Bank). The third institution rather than an agreement GATT originated from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment. IMF became operational in March 1947. The main aim of IMF was to create an International Monetary order and maintain a stable exchange rate.
The IMF was created basically with an idea to oversee the new monetary order. The role of IMF has evolved over time. Initially, its role was to encourage international cooperation in the monetary field by removing barriers. In addition to this till the 1970s, IMF was acting as a ‘currency buffer’, granting loans to the countries experiencing a balance of payment crisis (BoP). But in the 1970s the United States abandoned the fixed exchange rate system and the IMF's role as currency buffer came to an end. The new role of IMF was to lend to the developing countries and after the collapse of the USSR to the transition countries.
These loans given by the International Monetary Fund are not given on humanitarian grounds or out of courtesy rather these loans come with a condition. The condition is the structural adjustment. These loans were mostly given to the developing and transition countries who were already facing the crisis were forced to remove the barriers to trade including non-tariff barriers, privatize the public institutions, and liberalize the banking system. This adversely affected the developing countries mostly Asian, Sub-Saharan, and Latin American countries(ALA nations). As a result of reduced spending by the government, unemployment rose to the sky touching heights and that led to the increase in the population below the poverty line. According to Joseph Stieglitz, the Structural Adjustment Programme deepened the economic crises in Asia and Russia, etc.
The IMF is a puppet of northern economies. IMF has a structural bias against developing countries. A general idea of this bias can be taken from the facts that the headquarters of the IMF is on US soil and voting right in the IMF is given based on the size of the economy so the US gets effective veto power.
Since 2006 the role of developing countries in the decision-making process in the International Monetary Fund has been enhanced. After the global economic crisis of 2008, the role of IMF was again reformulated and now the focus of IMF is to prevent the crises rather than just containing them.
In conclusion, the IMF has not given the level of consideration to its criticism as is given by the World Bank. But the IMF has changed itself making it more favorable and a safe pace for ALA nations. With one more reform, it can work more effectively, efficiently, and democratically.
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