Abstract From the late 1980s to the 1990s, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) became the battleground over whether countries could use capital controls, or restrictions on cross-border capital movements. From the late 1980s to the 1990s, influential IMF shareholders from the Global North advocated removing these controls, believing it would spur economic efficiency and stability. Conversely, many developing nations saw capital controls as necessary for stability and economic sovereignty. This chapter traces how the IMF’s policy script evolved, with high-income nations pushing to institutionalize liberalization and developing countries defending capital controls as essential for economic stability. Contentious boardroom debates reveal how staff and Board members navigated complex political interests.