ABSTRACT
In the international development policy realm, rival and overlapping multilateral development banks (MDBs) all have a shared agenda of legitimation. They operate based on delegation by their member states – including donor countries and borrowing nations – and can only pursue activities that have at least tacit endorsement of the relevant sovereign bodies. Yet, MDBs also reflect global norms. That is the case with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda. MDBs have incorporated this agenda in the past decade notwithstanding the fact that both environmental and social factors had already been present in their operations. Yet, how do MDBs differ in their approach to diffuse sustainability norms among borrowing states? With this purpose, I compare the approach to the subnational spheres of authority – including those comprising indigenous peoples – in sustainable development-related policies in two regional MDBs (the CAF and the Inter-American Development Bank), two global MDBs (the World Bank and the New Development Bank), and three banks that focus on different subregions of Latin America. Based on archival research of environmental and social policies concerning sustainable development and climate change, I show that MDBs mainly sponsored by Non-Western powers tend to emphasize the national sphere of authority as a source of decision-making and norms.
