International Institutions (Research Paper Sample)

Name
Lecturer
Course
3 May 2015
International Institutions
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
The IMF is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., the major aim of which is to help countries to secure financial stability, create employment opportunities, sustain their economic growth, and most importantly to foster global monetary cooperation. The organization consists of about 188 countries with some of them being members since foundation in 1944, and by 1945, it counted only 29 countries. The initial purpose of establishing the organization was the aim to reconstruct the international monetary system (International Monetary Fund, "About the IMF”).
The countries who are members of the organization contribute funds through a quota system, which they can borrow when they have some economic difficulties. The total quotas made up US$327 billion in March 2015, while additional pledged or committed resources made up US$885 billion in the same year (International Monetary Fund, "About the IMF”).
The organization, besides all the other activities keeps track of member countries’ economies and analyses them. If a country’s economy is in turmoil, IMF will help but before then, through the organization’s monitoring and analysis, they will see the problems prior to their occurrence and demand for self-correcting policies from the country. According to the organization’s specifications, it is mandated to promote international, promoting international economic cooperation, helping countries create employment opportunities, and also stabilize exchange rate of which includes providing financial support to member countries when the need arises (International Monetary Fund, "About the IMF”).
Nevertheless, member countries that are offered the loans or the funds are supposed to stabilize their economy and begin to pay back to the organization. Furthermore, the member countries that face the economic problems are mandated to conserve the international economy by extension the reputation of the organization through solving their problems in a reputable manner and ways that are economically legal and friendly to everyone. These conditions were set to prevent some countries from becoming self-centered and take on measures that may affect other countries’ economies (Das 572).
When a member country is offered a loan, they are also given terms referred to as the Articles of Agreement. These agreements are signed by the specific countries being given the loan and they are supposed to implement the agreements accordingly. In addition, they are also supposed to ensure that they will bring back their economy to the right state or rectify the required structural or macroeconomic imbalances. In order for a country to pay back the loan, making the required correction is the only option for it to be successful. The IMF, besides offering the loans, provides any necessary help to the country faced with the economic difficulty (International Monetary Fund, "How the IMF Promotes Global Economic Stability”).
Every country has different weight in the IMF which depends on their quota in organization. The quota of a country is determined on the basis of its weight in the world economy. Quota in its turn defines the number of votes given to the country. Due to this, the U.S. having the highest quota, has the biggest number of votes, hence has the greater ability to influence the policies of the organization. The body does not have restrictive requirements for members though there are few specifications after membership. These are: (1)the obligation of making the necessary periodic membership payments; (2) necessity to follow the code of conduct under the IMF articles of agreement; (3) prohibition to engage in any currency restrictions before being permitted by the organization; and (4) need for every country to provide its national economic details. Stricter rules are the ones that are given along with loans as it is one sensitive matter. Member countries are to share economic policies so that they can help each other in bettering their economies and to motivate each other. They can also help each other financially, technically in banking matters, and even on exchange and trade matters. Member countries have largely benefited from the services of the organizations (Van 1662). Moreover, they have a way out of economic situations hence their economic strength and the fostered international affairs including trade and investment.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
WTO is an intergovernmental organization formed on January 1, 1995, with the aim of regulating international trade. The organization had 123 member states by the time it was formed, and this is because it had been formed from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade under the Marrakech Agreement and in April 2015 its membership consisted of 161 countries (World Trade Organization, "WTO: Who We Are”). The main principles of the orgatisation are non-dscrimination, transparency in trade, fair competition, facilitation of trade and assistance to developing countries, and environment protection. Trade regulation by the organization is attained through negotiations of trade agreements and dispute resolution which are its immediate duty. Members of the organization should adhere to specific agreements set and agreed by them in the name of the organization (World Trade Organization, "WTO: Who We Are”). Before rules or agreements become law, member states should go through them and ratify them, and it is only then that the agreements become enforced.
This organization exhibits some form of preference, where the process of becoming a member is different to every candidate country. The terms for joining it are based on the country’s economic state and the current trade regime; this is the process which officially takes at least 5 years, however this time period can be affected by other issues including political and economic matters that might befall the country during the process of accession. For instance, Kyrgyzstan is a country that took the least time ever to join the organization while Russia took the longest time. Russia first applied to join the organization in 1993 and it was only until December 2011 when it was accepted in. Some countries are given terms that are hard to take on and may take time to put into action; given the uncertainty of the economic and political conditions, most of them fail to meet the terms (Van 1663). For instance, Vanuatu requested to join the organization in 1995 and was not able to meet the terms and in 2008, it requested more time to reconsider the package or the terms. The country was reconvened in 2011 and it was only until August 24, 2012, when it was accepted as the 157th member after scrutiny by a commission that had been in the country since May 2, 2011.
The Ministerial Conference is the highest decision making body of the organization. It is in charge of making important decisions under the multilateral trade agreement and is also in charge of assembling all members of the organization for meetings where important trade discussions are carried out. The first ministerial conference was held in Singapore in 1996, and it was not much of a breakthrough as it was marked by disputes. Member countries could not agree on some policies that have been collectively referred to as the "Singapore issues”. The third conference held in Seattle, Washington, was also rocked with disagreements and was even a greater failure than the first one. It was marked by massive demonstrations in the country and the N...