ABSTRACT

The OECD is an international organization in crisis. Its member countries widely agree on the continuing relevance of its original objectives: to promote policies designed to achieve the highest sustainable economic growth; to contribute to sound economic expansion in member as well as non-member countries; and to contribute to the expansion of world trade (e.g. OECD 2003a). However, as a result of changes in the international policy arena, the OECD seems to have somewhat lost its original identity over the past decade or so, and its legitimacy is increasingly being questioned, both within and beyond the member governments. The organization is often seen as a ‘club of rich countries’ promoting a neo-liberal reform agenda (e.g. Libération 2001; Dostal 2004), its organizational structure and consensual decisionmaking hampers its capacity to react quickly to new, emerging issues, and its overly prudent communications approach has resulted in low visibility (OECD 2003a: 20).