The basis of this paper is to scrutinize why the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has been designed as it has been, and how the specific design of the institution already has and will affect the Asian Development Bank. The general analytical and methodological approach underlining this research is to be found in in the Rational Design’s rationalistic approach to institutions and their design’s. Based on the deductive process, coupled with Rational Design’s framework of undertaking a case study, the paper dissects both the AIIB and the ADB, in order to divide the institutions into dependent variables. Hereafter, the paper represents its independent variables stemming primarily from cooperation theory. These independent variables formulates the theoretical foundation of the rational design and coupled with the fragmented empirical material, the paper utilizes an intricate statistical method of cross-referring independent variables with dependent in the context of conjectures, formulated by the Rational Design, in order to analyze the reasoning behind the design choices of the AIIB. After having determined the reasons behind the individual design choices of the AIIB, the Paper presents a line of inquiry; comparing the findings to the design features of the ADB. In this line of inquiry an assertion, of what the AIIB’s design, and its creation, will imply for the ADB. Beside these main lines of inquiry, the paper will also address and analyze how the AIIB will affect, and have been affected, by China and the geopolitical climate of the region.
The analytical component of this paper centers primarily on two key aspects of the AIIB its members and its scope. In regards to the membership constellation the paper attempts to apprehend why some members have chosen to join the institution while others haven’t. Moreover, the paper tries to utilize the theoretical knowledge of membership politics and preferences in order to comprehend why it has been possible, and why it has been preferable, for the creator of the AIIB to pursue this exact membership constellation and specific mechanism of inclusiveness. In addressing the scope of the AIIB the paper utilizes a three-dimensional approach comprising real economics, geopolitics and the scope of the AIIB.
Lastly the Paper concludes its deductions, clarifying and discussing the findings from the application of the different conjectures. Here, concluding that the findings related solely to the AIIB’s design choices could be explained by a mixture of regional trade, comparative advantages and China’s economic profile. However, the analytical aspect investigating from a comparative angel concluded that the design choices of the AIIB were most likely aimed at cooperation and a wish to extend and supplement the already existing regional institutional framework. And lastly, the paper ponders the usability of the Rational Design in order to comprehend a case such as the AIIB. Concluding; that even though the short lifespan of the institution does hamper the analytical process, and the extent of the analysis, the Rational Design does provide a stringent and in depth understanding of the institutions design and how it relates to a similar institution.