ABSTRACT
This chapter compares the identities of two of the World Bank Group’s
(WBG)1 lesser-known affiliates: the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). Both
became increasingly active during Wolfensohn’s tenure, but remain relatively
unexamined. Moreover, throughout the Wolfensohn decade, both institu-
tions were challenged by environmental organizations – which are described
here as transnational advocacy networks – to adopt norms of sustainability.
These processes are reminiscent of previous environmental advocacy against
the Bank, and demonstrate how the affiliates faced similar normative pres-
sure yet responded in different ways (Rich 1994). Their responses, it is argued, derive from their distinct identities. This makes generalizable claims
about Wolfensohn’s WBG limited, although the degree that the affiliates
followed the Bank, and Wolfensohn’s contribution to affiliate actions,
become apparent throughout.
