Institutional Interplay between the Chiang Mai Initiative and the International Monetary Fund

Abstract

This paper argues that the emergence and implementation of an international institution can only be fully understood if it is seen as part of a larger regime complex. It analyses the establishment of the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI), a regional financial arrangement in East Asia, by focusing on its interplay with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It will be argued that four factors play a major role in the CMI’s interactions within the financial regime complex: the lack of a clean slate, forum shopping, legal inconsistencies and the politics of implementation.