Transatlantic Politics and the Transformation of the International Monetary System

Transatlantic Politics and the Transformation of the International Monetary System
Author: Michelle Frasher
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2013-09-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1135627320

With original archival documents and interviews from the US and Europe, Michelle Frasher brings the reader into the negotiating room with American, German, and French officials as they confronted the collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary system and made decisions that affected the course of European integration and the contemporary neoliberal order. She identifies crisis as the catalyst for change in international monetary policies, but argues that the causes of crisis originated from a multitude of factors such as market speculation, American hegemony, institutional flaws, and ideational conflicts among the leaders themselves. Far from a planned and consensual process, this book shows that the transformation to neoliberalism was riddled with discord and fret with trial and error. She argues that the resulting currency regime allowed governments to entrench themselves in national interests and facilitated the "marketization" of the state, where states have became both clients and participants in the financialized global economy—to the detriment of international stability. Frasher’s is the first work to connect the 1960s and 1970s to the difficulties of inter-state and inter-market cooperation that have plagued the system in the last decades, and it puts the 2008 debacle into historical perspective.

Transatlantic Politics and the Transformation of the International Monetary System

Transatlantic Politics and the Transformation of the International Monetary System
Author: Michelle Frasher
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2013-09-05
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1135627398

With original archival documents and interviews from the US and Europe, Michelle Frasher brings the reader into the negotiating room with American, German, and French officials as they confronted the collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary system and made decisions that affected the course of European integration and the contemporary neoliberal order. She identifies crisis as the catalyst for change in international monetary policies, but argues that the causes of crisis originated from a multitude of factors such as market speculation, American hegemony, institutional flaws, and ideational conflicts among the leaders themselves. Far from a planned and consensual process, this book shows that the transformation to neoliberalism was riddled with discord and fret with trial and error. She argues that the resulting currency regime allowed governments to entrench themselves in national interests and facilitated the "marketization" of the state, where states have became both clients and participants in the financialized global economy—to the detriment of international stability. Frasher’s is the first work to connect the 1960s and 1970s to the difficulties of inter-state and inter-market cooperation that have plagued the system in the last decades, and it puts the 2008 debacle into historical perspective.

A History of International Monetary Diplomacy, 1867 to the Present

A History of International Monetary Diplomacy, 1867 to the Present
Author: Giulio M. Gallarotti
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 203
Release: 2021-07-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317554965

This book is about how the rise of democracy has transformed economics over the past 150 years. As voting was expanded to the masses in the late 19th century, political leaders faced emergent pressures to deliver prosperity to their newly enfranchised populations. This led to the rise of the guardian state: a state whose prime directive was to protect economic growth and employment. Domestic economic goals now became sacrosanct, and if that meant a failure on the international stage to construct solutions to problems in monetary relations, so be it. The book traces the history of international monetary diplomacy during this long period to show how the guardian state has manifested itself, and how it has shaped the course of international monetary relations. Each of the most important international monetary conferences in history is scrutinized with respect to how nations sought to protect the prosperity within their national economies. The historical narratives give a bird’s-eye view into how domestic political priorities have intruded on and shaped economic relations among nations. The book clearly demonstrates the advantages of an interdisciplinary understanding of how politics shapes economics. It will be invaluable reading for scholars and students of international economics, politics and economic history.

Currency Statecraft

Currency Statecraft
Author: Benjamin J. Cohen
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2018-11-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 022658786X

At any given time, a limited number of national currencies are used as instruments of international commerce, to settle foreign trade transactions or store value for investors and central banks. How countries whose currencies gain international appeal choose to use this status forms their strategy of currency statecraft. In different circumstances, issuing governments may welcome and promote the internationalization of their currency, tolerate it, or actively oppose it. Benjamin J. Cohen offers a provocative explanation of the strategic policy choices at play. In a comprehensive review that ranges from World War II to the present, Cohen convincingly argues that one goal stands out as the primary motivation for currency statecraft: the extent of a country’s geopolitical ambition, or how driven it is to build or sustain a prominent place in the international community. When a currency becomes internationalized, it generally increases the power of the nation that produces it. In the persistent contestation that characterizes global politics, that extra edge can matter greatly, making monetary rivalry an integral component of geopolitics. Today, the major example of monetary rivalry is the emerging confrontation between the US dollar and the Chinese renminbi. Cohen describes how China has vigorously promoted the international standing of its currency in recent years, even at the risk of exacerbating relations with the United States, and explains how the outcome could play a major role in shaping the broader geopolitical engagement between the two superpowers.

Handbook of the International Political Economy of Monetary Relations

Handbook of the International Political Economy of Monetary Relations
Author: Thomas Oatley
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 507
Release: 2014-06-27
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0857938371

This extensive Handbook provides an in-depth exploration of the political economy dynamics associated with the international monetary and financial systems. Leading experts offer a fresh take on research into the interaction between system structure, t

The Cold War [5 volumes]

The Cold War [5 volumes]
Author: Spencer C. Tucker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 4179
Release: 2020-10-27
Genre: History
ISBN:

This sweeping reference work covers every aspect of the Cold War, from its ignition in the ashes of World War II, through the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis, to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Cold War superpower face-off between the Soviet Union and the United States dominated international affairs in the second half of the 20th century and still reverberates around the world today. This comprehensive and insightful multivolume set provides authoritative entries on all aspects of this world-changing event, including wars, new military technologies, diplomatic initiatives, espionage activities, important individuals and organizations, economic developments, societal and cultural events, and more. This expansive coverage provides readers with the necessary context to understand the many facets of this complex conflict. The work begins with a preface and introduction and then offers illuminating introductory essays on the origins and course of the Cold War, which are followed by some 1,500 entries on key individuals, wars, battles, weapons systems, diplomacy, politics, economics, and art and culture. Each entry has cross-references and a list of books for further reading. The text includes more than 100 key primary source documents, a detailed chronology, a glossary, and a selective bibliography. Numerous illustrations and maps are inset throughout to provide additional context to the material.

Democracy, Federalism, the European Revolution, and Global Governance

Democracy, Federalism, the European Revolution, and Global Governance
Author: Andrea Bosco
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2020-06-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1527554457

The European Union is facing today the greatest crisis since its creation. Brexit could mean not only the reversal of its steady enlargement—from 6 to 28 member states—but also the beginning of an inexorable decline leading to its disintegration. However, few today seem to recollect that it was precisely the British who were the first to promulgate the political culture which inspired the European Union’s construction—democracy and federalism—and the first who tried to realise, in June 1940, a European federation on the basis of an Anglo-French union. This volume traces the fundamental stages of the European unification process, placing it in relation to the wider process of world economic and political integration. In particular, it analyses the historical significance of the European Revolution, which is identified in the overcoming of the nation state—namely the modern political formula which institutionalised the political division of mankind—and the birth of the first truly international state. The universal historical significance of the European Revolution lies in its exportability—as for the other great European revolutions—and, therefore, its potential as progressively extensible to all the states of the planet. Europe was indeed the first region of the world where the barriers between national states fell, and a post-national political identity emerged, complementary to national political identities. It is, in fact, in the context of the European Union that democracy beyond the borders of the nation state has first been realized, constituting a guiding principle for global governance.

International Mobility, Global Capitalism, and Changing Structures of Accumulation

International Mobility, Global Capitalism, and Changing Structures of Accumulation
Author: Anthony P. D'Costa
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2015-11-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317357264

International mobility is not a new concept as people have moved throughout history, voluntarily and forcibly, for personal, familial, economic, political, and professional reasons. Yet, the mobility of technical talent in the global economy is relatively new, largely voluntary, structurally determined by market forces, and influenced by immigration policies. With over a decade’s worth of extensive research in India, Japan, Finland, and Singapore, this book provides an alternative understanding of how capitalism functions at the global level by specifically analyzing the international movement of technical professionals between India and Japan. There are three factors that inform this study: the services transition away from manufacturing, the movement of technical professionals in the world economy, and the demographic crisis facing Japan. The dynamics of changing capitalism are examined by theorizing the emergence of the services sector in the USA and Japan, analyzing the pronounced social inequality in India that is the basis for the global supply of highly skilled technical professionals, and providing considerable empirical data on the flows of professionals to these two countries to indicate Japan’s institutional inflexibility in accommodating foreign talent. The author anticipates that Japanese industry will shed some of its institutional rigidity due to the pressures of competition and the scarcity of technical professionals. Providing a wealth of information on the topic of international mobility, this book is an essential addition for scholars and students in the field of International Development, Business Studies, Asian Studies, Migration Studies, and Political Economy.

Globalization and Labour in the Twenty-First Century

Globalization and Labour in the Twenty-First Century
Author: Verity Burgmann
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2016-04-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317227824

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.tandfebooks.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 3.0 license.Globalization has adversely affected working-class organization and mobilization, increasing inequality by redistribution upwards from labour to capital. However, workers around the world are challenging their increased exploitation by globalizing corporations. In developed countries, many unions are transforming themselves to confront employer power in ways more appropriate to contemporary circumstances; in developing countries, militant new labour movements are emerging. Drawing upon insights in anti-determinist Marxian perspectives, Verity Burgmann shows how working-class resistance is not futile, as protagonists of globalization often claim. She identifies eight characteristics of globalization harmful to workers and describes and analyses how they have responded collectively to these problems since 1990 and especially this century. With case studies from around the world, including Greece since 2008, she pays particular attention to new types of labour movement organization and mobilization that are not simply defensive reactions but are offensive and innovative responses that compel corporations or political institutions to change. Aging and less agile manifestations of the labour movement decline while new expressions of working-class organization and mobilization arise to better battle with corporate globalization. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of labour studies, globalization, political economy, Marxism and sociology of work.

The Crisis and Renewal of U.S. Capitalism

The Crisis and Renewal of U.S. Capitalism
Author: Laurence Cossu-Beaumont
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2015-12-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317439112

Despite the reversal of America’s fortune from the triumphalism of the Roaring Nineties to the gloom of the lost decade and the Great Depression, theoretical conceptions of US capitalism have remained surprisingly unchanged. In fact, if the crisis questioned the sustainability of the US capitalist paradigm, it did not fundamentally challenge academic theorization of American political economy. This book departs from the American political economy literature to identify three common myths that have shaped our conceptualization of US capitalism: its reduction to a state-market dyad dis-embedded from societal factors; the illusion of a weak state and the synchronic conception of the US variety of capitalism. To remedy these pitfalls, the authors propose a civilizational approach to American political economy at the crossroads between cultural studies, history, sociology and political science. Drawing together contributions from a rich variety of fields (from geography to cultural studies, political science and sociology) this work sheds a new light on America’s "cultural political economy" combining theoretical reflection with empirical data and offering innovative perspectives on the crisis and renewal of American capitalism.