Internal Dynamics as Drivers of Change in International Organizations: The Economists’ Takeover at the World Bank

Abstract

Using the largely untapped episode of the reconstruction of the World Bank’s Economics Department in the mid-1960s, this article aims to augment our theoretical and empirical understanding of intra-organizational change in international organizations (IOs). By analyzing the instruments and mechanisms of dynamic staff agency, it highlights the capacity of norm entrepreneurs, professional groups, and internal administrative units to shape activities and initiate a change of IOs. The article makes a case for a more dynamic constructivist approach to the study of IOs and their ecosystems.