World Bank

Éric Toussaint is a historian and political scientist with a PhD from the Universities of Paris VIII and Liège. He is spokesperson for the CADTM (Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt) of which he is one of the founding members. He took part in the process that launched the World Social Forum in 2001. He is the author of numerous books, including The Debt System; Bankocracy, and Debt, the IMF, and the World Bank: Sixty Questions, Sixty Answers.Gilbert Achcar teaches at the School of Oriental and African Studies.

'Superior … a broad ranging guide that explains the global power structure over the last eight decades. The history of the World Bank and its frequent support of dictatorships in the Global South clarifies the nexus between high finance and power politics.'

• ForewordTerminology: South/North – Developing/Developed. Just What Are We Talking About?Chapter 1 – The Origins of the Bretton Woods InstitutionsChapter 2 – The First Years of the World Bank (1946-1962)Chapter 3 – Difficult Beginnings Between the Un and the World BankChapter 4 –The Post-world War II Context – the Marshall Plan and the London Agreement onGermany’s DebtChapter 5 – A Bank Under InfluenceChapter 6 –World Bank and IMF Support for DictatorshipsChapter 7 – The World Bank and the Philippines (1946–1990)Chapter 8 – The World Bank’s Support for the Dictatorship in TurkeyChapter 9 – The Bank in Indonesia: a Textbook Case of InterventionChapter 10 – The World Bank’s Theoretical Falsehoods Regarding DevelopmentChapter 11 – South Korea: the “miracle” UnmaskedChapter 12 – The Debt TrapChapter 13 – The World Bank Saw the Debt Crisis LoomingChapter 14 – The Mexican Debt Crisis and the World BankChapter 15 – The World Bank and the IMF: the Creditors’ EnforcersChapter 16 – Presidents Barber Conable and Lewis Preston (1986-1995)Chapter 17 – Rwanda: the Genocide’s FinanciersChapter 18 – James Wolfensohn Switches on the Charm (1995-2005)Chapter 19 – Debates in Washington at the Start of the Twenty-first CenturyChapter 20 – Structural Adjustment and the Washington Consensus Were Not Abandoned in 2000Chapter 21 – Climate and the Environmental Crisis: Sorcerer’s Apprentices at the World Bank and the IMFChapter 22 – Paul Wolfowitz (2005–2007): an Architect of the Invasion of Iraq at the Head of the World BankChapter 23 – Ecuador: Progress and the Limits of Resistance to the Policies of the World Bank, the IMF and Other CreditorsChapter 24 – The US President’s Men Keep Control of the World BankChapter 25 – The IMF and the World Bank in the Time of Coronavirus: the Failed Campaign for a New ImageChapter 26 – The World Bank Did Not Foresee the Arab Spring Popular Uprisings and Still Promotes the Very Same Policies That Triggered ThemChapter 27 – The “Gender Equity” Farce: a Feminist Reading of World Bank PoliciesChapter 28 – The World Bank and Human RightsChapter 29 – Time to Put an End to World Bank ImpunityChapter 30 – The Case for Abolishing and Replacing the IMF and the World Bank AnnexesAnnex 1: The World Bank: an ABCAnnex 2: The International Monetary Fund (IMF): an ABC GlossaryBibliography of Works CitedWorks by Eric Toussaint Published in EnglishTable of TablesTable of Graphs