Behind the Words: How IMF and World Bank Discourse Sustains Neoliberal Agendas and Shapes Advocacy in the Arab Region

This new paper examines how the IMF and World Bank’s evolving language on social policy masks continuity in underlying neoliberal policy frameworks. Drawing on discourse analysis, word-frequency analysis, a literature review, and key informant interviews, the study argues that these discursive shifts often redirect civil society efforts toward contesting meanings rather than policies. It sheds light on how advocacy actors in the Arab region navigate this terrain and asks two central questions: what purposes do these discursive shifts serve, and how do advocacy actors respond to them?

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