The World Bank Inspection Panel -
Research-Led Teaching

University of Kassel graduate as expert in World Bank video

Dr. Dustin Schäfer, a former student and doctoral candidate at the University of Kassel, completed his doctorate on the World Bank's Inspection Panel in the field of development policy and postcolonial studies this year. He can now be seen as an expert in a short film that was released last week to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the World Bank's Inspection Panel.

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Origin and Tasks

The classic accountability structure of international organisations, according to international relations theory, always involves the nation state as a member of the international organisation, leaving very little space for non-state actors ...

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State of Research on the IP

Most of the research available on the IP and its practice is by the IP itself or from a Legal or Non-Governmental Organisation Perspective. There is very little research that has been carried out on the IP process with regard to its impact at the grassroots from an ...

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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.

New Publication (Open Access): Das Inspection Panel der Weltbank Entwicklungspolitische Praktiken zwischen Disruption und Legitimation by Dr. Dustin Schäfer

New Publication (Open Access): Das Inspection Panel der Weltbank Entwicklungspolitische Praktiken zwischen Disruption und Legitimation by Dr. Dustin Schäfer: Read More

Inspection Panel Case Studies

Nevertheless the IP cases of the past 12 years have been hardly studied with a few exceptions. Which is why the Project seminar sought to study a few of those cases comprehensively, and present the findings.

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