This paper is a product of a current ODI research project, which examines the uses and limitations of donor conditionality as a way of bringing about improved economic policies in developing countries.

It is a long-standing complaint about the use of conditionality, particularly as practised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, that their policy stipulations infringe the sovereignty of the borrowing countries. This paper explores, with special reference to the IMF, whether that complaint can be sustained and how much force it has.