1988 IMF/World Bank protests

Last updated

The 1988 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank were met with an international protest in West Berlin. Whereas the organizations' earlier meetings were met with smaller, national protests, the 1988 meetings attracted protesters internationally against what was the largest assembly of the international monetary order since the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. Protesters demonstrated against the IMF's austerity policies towards developing nations. Representatives from Third World countries called for debt cancellation, and others advocated for solutions to world hunger and poverty. Due to the protest's high-profile venue, media outlets extensively covered the protests. Later IMF and World Bank meetings received smaller protests, but following the 1999 Seattle WTO protests, all meetings of the IMF, World Bank, G7, and G8 summits were met with significant protests. [1]

Contents

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Monetary Fund</span> International financial institution

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 190 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of last resort to national governments, and a leading supporter of exchange-rate stability. Its stated mission is "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world." Established on December 27, 1945 at the Bretton Woods Conference, primarily according to the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it started with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international monetary system after World War II. It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises. Through a quota system, countries contribute funds to a pool from which countries can borrow if they experience balance of payments problems. As of 2016, the fund had SDR 477 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black bloc</span> Tactic used by groups of protesters

A black bloc is a tactic used by protesters who wear black clothing, ski masks, scarves, sunglasses, motorcycle helmets with padding or other face-concealing and face-protecting items. The clothing is used to conceal wearers' identities and hinder criminal prosecution by making it difficult to distinguish between participants. It is also used to protect their faces and eyes from pepper spray, which is used by police during protests or civil unrest. The tactic also allows the group to appear as one large unified mass. Black bloc participants are often associated with anarchism, anarcho-communism, communism, libertarian socialism and the anti-globalization movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global financial system</span> Global framework for capital flows

The global financial system is the worldwide framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal economic action that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investment and trade financing. Since emerging in the late 19th century during the first modern wave of economic globalization, its evolution is marked by the establishment of central banks, multilateral treaties, and intergovernmental organizations aimed at improving the transparency, regulation, and effectiveness of international markets. In the late 1800s, world migration and communication technology facilitated unprecedented growth in international trade and investment. At the onset of World War I, trade contracted as foreign exchange markets became paralyzed by money market illiquidity. Countries sought to defend against external shocks with protectionist policies and trade virtually halted by 1933, worsening the effects of the global Great Depression until a series of reciprocal trade agreements slowly reduced tariffs worldwide. Efforts to revamp the international monetary system after World War II improved exchange rate stability, fostering record growth in global finance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 Seattle WTO protests</span> Anti-globalization demonstrations at a United States-hosted World Trade Organization conference

The 1999 Seattle WTO protests, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Seattle, were a series of anti-globalization protests surrounding the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999, when members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) convened at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington on November 30, 1999. The Conference was to be the launch of a new millennial round of trade negotiations.

The debt of developing countries usually refers to the external debt incurred by governments of developing countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G7</span> Inter-governmental political forum

The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental political & economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States; additionally, the European Union (EU) is a "non-enumerated member". It is organized around shared values of pluralism, liberal democracy, and representative government. G7 members are the major IMF advanced economies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">31st G8 summit</span> 2005 meeting of the G8 countries in Auchterarder, Scotland

The 31st G8 summit was held on 6–8 July 2005 at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland and hosted by Prime Minister Tony Blair. The locations of previous G8 summits to have been hosted by the UK include: London ; and Birmingham (1998). It is the first G8 summit to be held in Scotland. A sixth UK summit was held in Lough Erne in 2013; and a seventh UK summit was held in Carbis Bay in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G20</span> Forum of 19 countries along with EU and AU

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 sovereign countries, the European Union (EU), and the African Union (AU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation and sustainable development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">28th G8 summit</span>

The 28th G8 Summit was held in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 26–27, 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore 2006</span>

Singapore 2006 was a group of several concurrent events that were held in Singapore in support of the 61st Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group. The opening ceremony and plenary sessions for the main meetings took place from 19–20 September 2006 at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre (SSICEC) in Marina Centre. The ministers of G8, G10 and G24 coincided with the event on 16 September. Registration for event delegates began on 11 September 2006 at City Hall, and the three-day Program of Seminars from 16 September 2006 at the Pan Pacific Singapore. Other concurrent events that were held at various venues include the Singapore Biennale 2006, the Raffles Forum 2006, Indonesia Day and the Global Emerging Markets Investors Forum and Networking Reception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">14th G7 summit</span> 1988 G7 summit in Toronto, Canada

The 14th G7 Summit was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between June 19 and 21, 1988. The venue for the summit meetings was the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Downtown Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">15th G7 summit</span> 1989 G7 summit in La Defense, France

The 15th G7 Summit was held in the business district of La Défense to the west of Paris, France between 14 and 16 July 1989. The venue for the summit meetings was the Grande Arche which was rushed to completion for celebrations marking the bicentennial of the French Revolution and for the world economic summit meeting that was held in the top of the Arche. This event was also called the "Summit of the Arch."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10th G7 summit</span> 1984 G7 summit in London, United Kingdom

The 10th G7 Summit was held in London, England, United Kingdom from 7 to 9 June 1984. The venue for the summit meetings was Lancaster House in London.

Economic law is a set of legal rules for regulating economic activity. Economics can be defined as "a social science concerned with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services." The regulation of such phenomena, law, can be defined as "customs, practices, and rules of conduct of a community that are recognized as binding by the community", where "enforcement of the body of rules is through a controlling authority." Accordingly, different states have their own legal infrastructure and produce different provisions of goods and services.

Malcolm D. Knight is a Canadian economist, policymaker and banker. He is currently Visiting Professor of Finance at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for International Governance Innovation. From 2008 to 2012, Knight was Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank Group where he was responsible for developing and coordinating the bank's global approach to issues in financial regulation, supervision, and financial stability. He served as general manager of the Bank for International Settlements from 2003 to 2008 and as Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada (1999-2003), after holding senior positions at the International Monetary Fund (1975-1999).

Washington A16, 2000 was a series of protests in Washington, D.C. against the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, that occurred in April 2000. The annual IMF and World Bank meetings were the scene for follow-on protests of the 1999 WTO protests. In April 2000, between 10,000 and 15,000 protesters demonstrated at the IMF, and World Bank meeting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">38th G8 summit</span> Meeting of the members of the G-8

The 38th G8 summit was held in Camp David, Maryland, United States, on 18–19 May 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global apartheid</span>

Global apartheid is a term used to describe how Global North countries are engaged in a project of "racialization, segregation, political intervention, mobility controls, capitalist plunder, and labor exploitation" affecting people from the Global South. Proponents of the concept argue that a close examination of the global system reveals it to be a kind of apartheid writ large with striking resemblance to the system of racial segregation in South Africa from 1948 to 1994, but based on borders and national sovereignty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-globalization movement</span> Worldwide political movement against multinational corporations

The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist movement, anti-corporate globalization movement, or movement against neoliberal globalization. There are many definitions of anti-globalization.

References

  1. Peet, Richard (2009). Unholy Trinity: The IMF, World Bank and WTO. Zed Books. pp. 110–111. ISBN   978-1-84813-796-7.

Further reading