Climate Cascades

International organizations (IOs) are rapidly reorienting around climate change, despite powerful principal states having divergent preferences. When and why do IOs prioritize climate change? Richard T. Clark, Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University, will argue that they do so as a result of an endogenous process of staff learning and rotation. IO staff surveil and implement programs in target states. When working in climate-vulnerable countries, they come to see climate change as an issue warranting aggressive action. As these staff are rotated and promoted, interest in climate diffuses outwards and upwards through the institution. To test this theory, original data is introduced, tracking the International Monetary Fund's attention to climate change and the career paths of key staff. This is complemented with interviews of IMF personnel to support this theory.

About the speaker

Dr. Richard T. Clark is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. His research interests center on international organizations, international finance, public opinion of foreign economic policy, and climate politics. He is particularly interested in policymaking at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and how these organizations bargain with member states. His work has been published in the American Journal of Political Science, International Organization, and the Journal of Politics, among other outlets. His research has been recognized with several awards, including the 2022 Best Dissertation award from the International Collaboration section at APSA and the 2021 Henry Owen Memorial Award from the Bretton Woods Committee. He holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Host

Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies