Steven Dunaway
Interviewee:
Interviewer:
The arrest of IMF chief
Q. How large of a role has Strauss-Kahn played as the IMF chief over the past few years, particularly during the European debt crisis?
A. He has been a very important part of the IMF. The managing director is key in terms of being able to set the agenda for the fund in the areas in which he wants to have it involved. He's done a tremendous job of raising the profile of the IMF, particularly in the context of the current economic and financial crises. He has projected the fund into the role it was intended to have in terms of trying to coordinate the activities of a number of countries in response to the crisis and, now, with the recovery of the world economy. He has also furthered efforts to change the governance at the fund in order to provide greater representation to emerging-market countries, which have become much more important in the global economy.
With respect to the current debt crisis in
Q. In the event he steps down, how much of an impact will this have on the current EU/IMF proceedings, particularly the negotiations regarding the Greek bailout and the other countries you've mentioned?
A. In the very short term, it should have a significant effect. He was on his way to
Q. Is it fair to say that Strauss-Kahn helped the negotiating process by forging close relationships with high-level politicians in many countries, particularly with the Greek bailout?
A. Traditionally, that has been the role of the managing director. The head of the IMF has access to leaders in countries that the staff, particularly in the bigger countries, do not have. When I was the IMF's mission chief for
Q. Where do you think this scandal leaves the reputation of the IMF?
A. I don't think it will have an effect on the reputation of the institution itself. This is more of a personal problem and will have more of an impact on Strauss-Kahn himself. In the long term, it will probably create some difficulty for the Europeans, especially in the context of talking about a successor for Strauss-Kahn, should he decide to leave. There was the expectation that he was going to leave within the next couple of months to pursue the nomination of the Socialist party for the president of
There was a tacit understanding this old arrangement was going to end after Strauss-Kahn, where in the future the position would be filled on the basis of merit. However, at the end of the day, there is bound to be some type of political tradeoffs for such an important post. This might guarantee, in effect, that the next managing director will come from someplace outside
Q. How does that process work?
A. Member countries can make nominations for the post. The IMF's executive board meets to discuss the nominations, and they may reduce the list of candidates down to a few and conduct interviews with those people. At the end of the process, it's the executive board that decides. Behind the scenes, there are probably a lot of discussions between countries pushing particular candidates and, at the end of the day, it has historically been a consensus choice on who becomes the managing director.
Q. Given what is going on in the world, specifically the European financial crisis, is it your sense that the IMF should have another European as managing director?
A. No. I don't think that argument carries a lot of weight. During the Latin American debt crisis in the 1980-1990s, you could use that argument to say that a Latin American should have been the head of the IMF, but nobody raised it at the time. The same goes for the Asian financial crisis. The fact that there are problems in
- A Political Vision for Israel
- 3 Ongoing Conflicts You May Not Be Paying Attention To But Should
- Visegrad: A New European Military Force
- Turkey Setting Poor Example for Other Arab Nations
- IMF's Crisis-Management Challenge
- Dominique Strauss-Kahn Scandal an Embarrassment for France
- Going Cold on Bin Laden
- Chinese Investors Are Coming to Latin America
- Bin Laden's Death a Rorschach Test for the World
- Tough Times for Radical Islam
- China No. 1 in Five Years? Not so Soon
- Global Demography: Population Inflation
- Smallpox Threat Resurrected
- What's Next for al-Qaeda?
- Bin Laden's Death and U.S. Afghan Policy
- Engineering Programs React to Japan Nuclear Crisis
- Syria: At A Crossroads
- Iran: Authority Deficit
- NATO: Lessons From Libya
- United Kingdom: Forged In The Crucible Of Austerity
- United Kingdom: Democracy As Conflict Prevention
- United Kingdom: Military Defense Test Case
- British Defense Policy: MoD Mess
- United States - Pakistani Relations Beyond Bin Laden
- Bin Laden Death Raises Big National Security Questions
- Where the United States Goes from Here
- Welcome to Paybackistan
- Osama Bin Laden: Got Him!
- Will Bin Laden Death Affect Afghan Exit Timetable?
- Pakistan Unaware of Osama bin Laden Presence? Don't Believe It
- Congress Praises Obama and Troops After Bin Laden Death
- Strategic Implications of Osama bin Laden's Death
- IMF's Crisis-Management Challenge
- Final Letter to Osama bin Laden
- Justice Has Been Done
- President Obama on Osama Bin Laden
- Bin Laden and the Return of Common Sense
- Osama Bin Laden Dead
- Osama bin Laden Aftermath
- The Future of the Liberal World Order
- Why DOHA Trade Negotiations Are Doomed and What We Should Do About It
- Who's Afraid of the International Criminal Court?
- 5 Economies Worse Off Than the United States
- The Rise of the Islamists
- The Black Swan of Cairo
- Understanding the Middle East Revolutions of 2011
- Parsing the Differences Between Tunisia, Egypt and Libya
- The Heirs of Nasser
- Terrorism After the Arab Revolutions
- Egypt Can't Seem To Shed Bad Habits
- How Hosni Mubarak's Reign Came to an End
- Libya: The Two Obamas
- How to Save the Euro and the European Union
- Recalibrating Homeland Security
- Getting the Military Out of Pakistani Politics
- Power and Politics in an Autonomous Latin America
- The Sacred and the Dead
- China and the End of the Deng Dynasty
- United States - Pakistan Partnership in Peril
- Islamist Militancy in a Pre- and Post-Saleh Yemen
- Iraq, Iran and the Next Move
- World's Most Dangerous Man? Syrian Leader Makes Strong Case
- A View from Syria
- Libya and Beyond: Why not Every Nation for Itself?
- Confidence Remains Strong in Global Markets Despite Crises
- Latin America Provides Cautionary Tale for Middle East
- The Arab Risings, Israel and Hamas
- America Should Exercise Pragmatic Idealism in the Arab World
- Richard Goldstone Recants His Report Attacking Israel
- Middle East: Autocratic Deafness
- A Brave Libyan Stands Up Against Rape
- Is Pacific Fish Safe to Eat After the Disaster in Japan?
- Demand and Disasters Complicate Global Energy Picture
- Global Arms Trade: A Vortex of Death and Wealth
- Arms Trade: a Filter, Not a Dam
- Organised Crime: Joint Responsibility
- It's Time, Mr. President: A Time for Clarity
- Chances for a New US Foreign Policy Not Taken
- Did the United States Give Up on Libya?
- The Gulf Region: Anger Management
- Saudi Arabia: Guarding The Fortress
- Israel's Recent Political Actions Aren't Going Over Well
- Israel: If Not Now, When?
- A 'Reverse Beauty Pageant' for Tyrants
- African Hydropower: Damming at What Cost?
- United States - Pacific Relations: Pacific-Minded
- 7 Problems That Could Derail the Global Economic Recovery
- Technology Powers Revolutions and Saves Lives
- Russia Stocks Soar on Rising Oil Prices
- Japan: Heavy History
- China: Weak Impetus for Change
- China Sees the Evil of Plastic Bags
- Pakistan: Educating For Tolerance
- Immaculate Intervention: The Wars of Humanitarianism
- AQAP and the Vacuum of Authority in Yemen
- Japan Quake and Tsunami Among Most Costly of All Time
- China's Economy the Key to Quelling Social Unrest
- Syria's Stalled Revolution
- Prudent Multilateralism in Libya
- The Thinly Veiled Campaign for Regime Change
- Unexpected Revelations in Libyan Intervention
- President Obama's Most Amazing Libyan Achievements
- Libya: Insanity Dawn
- Obama's Half-a-Loaf War
- Obama Said He Doesn't Mind Criticism on Libya Mission in Latin America
- What Happened to the American Declaration of War?
- The Power of Giving Back
- Safety on the Cheap
- Egyptian Elections: the Sooner, the Better
- The Libyan Question: What Now?
- Obama's 'Goldilocks' Doctrine
- War Number Three
- Un-Unified Oppositions in Bahrain and Yemen
- Japanese Earthquake Brings Back Sad Memories
- 5 Reasons Investors Should Not Bail on Japan
- Japan's Nuclear Crisis Reignites Safety Debate
- Military Involvement in Libya Costs Taxpayers Millions
- United Nations Relevance
- A Mother's Confession on Mothers' Day
- Middle East Crisis: Today's Events in the Middle East
- World's Costliest Disaster
- Japan Crisis: Video Reports 3/23/2011
Available at Amazon.com:
Aftermath: Following the Bloodshed of America's Wars in the Muslim World
Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East (The Contemporary Middle East)
The End of History and the Last Man
The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics
The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?
Running Out of Water: The Looming Crisis and Solutions to Conserve Our Most Precious Resource
Bottled and Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession with Bottled Water
Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization
At War with the Weather: Managing Large-Scale Risks in a New Era of Catastrophes
Friendly Fire: Losing Friends and Making Enemies in the Anti-American Century
Dining With al-Qaeda: Three Decades Exploring the Many Worlds of the Middle East
Uprising: Will Emerging Markets Shape or Shake the World Economy
Copyright 2011, THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS; DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.