| Publication |
2011.
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| Summary/Abstract |
International relations has demonstrated the contribution national legislatures make toward global cooperation. Yet what explains variation in securing funding for International Organizations (IOs) through the US Congress? I derive a theory of interaction from studies of interest groups in American politics and argue that the cause of funding delays and their resolution can be found where groups advance policy reform agendas through Congressional channels. Using process tracing of successive case studies, the article presents evidence from International Development Association (IDA) replenishments. It situates the rationality of members of Congress and other national and transnational actors within the context of a formal, domestic political institution whose budgetary process is deeply conflicted and subject to constant change. Thus, the theory offered here could be used by either rationalists or constructivists to support a material or ideational explanation for Congressional action.
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