Communities of Practice in World Politics: Collective Learning, Contestation and Coloniality at the World Bank [Hardcover]

1. Introduction? 2. Relations, Processes, and Narratives in Communities of Practice? 3. Collective Learning at the Boundaries of Communities of Practice? 4. Inclusive Procedural Practices within CoPs at the Bank? 5. Boundaries as Sites for Collective Learning? 6. Boundary Brokers are not Alone, not even James Wolfensohn? 7. Contestation in and of Practices? 8. Better Practices and Coloniality of Epistemic Power? 9. Conclusion: Implications for Multilateral Development Policymaking

By defining international communities of practice (CoPs) as domains of knowledge, this book investigates the adoption of new practices via collective learning.?It will be of interest to scholars and students interested in IR theory, international organizations, development workers and anyone interested in global governance.

By defining international communities of practice (CoPs) as domains of knowledge, this book investigates the adoption of new international practices via collective learningthat is, the redefinition of what is acceptable and feasible. Explaining how inclusive practices at the World Bank became institutionalized, it shows that while changes in presidents can influence practices of international organizations, shifts in collective thinking are even more important to understand world ordering.

Collective learning happens at the boundaries between CoPs when practitioners interact with others inside or outside the formal walls of an organizationthrough processes of boundary encounters, boundary brokering, and the use of epistemic boundary objects. Since the 1980s, despite stability in their technocratic political rationality, World Bank employees arranged in CoPs collectively learned that program ownership and consultation in policymaking were more effective than top-down practices. However, while learning that more democratic practices rendered their projects and policilóŽ