Anastassia Obydenkova

The role of foreign aid in diffusing democratic values remains inconclusive. At the same time, membership in intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), containing a strong aid or transfer component, is associated with increasing democracy in their member states. This paper explores the impact of membership and loans of a particular type of IGOs, regional multilateral development banks (MDBs), on democracy diffusion in recipient member-states during the period of 1972–2008. Using a newly assembled database of MDB membership and lending, we find that membership in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are both associated with an increase in democracy. By contrast, membership in other regional MDBs—African, Asian, and Inter-American Banks—saw mainly negative effects on democracy scores during the Cold War. Our results indicate that the impact of MDBs on democracy diffusion is highly dependent on the particular regional context, the MDB, and the historical period.

The Arctic is one of the key regions in relation to global climate change, experiencing radical transformations in environmental governance as well as challenges in terms of its ecological protection. The region is witnessing a number of irreversible climatic shifts, such as melting permafrost, rising sea levels, contamination of the Global Ocean, and changes in the lives of indigenous people. The Arctic is a global hot spot in climate change where international cooperation (scientific, environmental, diplomatic, etc.) should be a priority to overcome existing ecological challenges. This article provides detailed analysis of these issues from cross-disciplinary perspectives, bringing insights from economics, history, anthropology, international relations, and political science from the perspective of literature on environmental regionalism. The article analyzes a selection of heterogeneous actors, many of whom have contradictory rules, norms, and priorities. Analysis of the Arctic through the lens of regional environmental governance aspires to contribute to understanding of the complexity of existing challenges and their potential solutions. This article offers an analysis of the major findings in this topical collection. It contributes to the development of cross-disciplinary approach to the studies of the Artic and outlines a research agenda.