The relationship between states and globalization is one of the burning questions of our time. Providing a lively critique of how international and comparative political economy misjudge the relationship between markets and states, this book demonstrates the American state's central place in today's world of globalized finance. While US military interventions draw most attention to the imperial nature of the American state, the highly original contributions here show how US power is embedded in the structures of global finance. The first part of the volume examines the contours and sources of American financial power, and the second part traces the processes through which the pillars of American power in global finance have been constructed. Taking the analysis right up to the present situation, this book powerfully reveals the role the American state plays in the expansion of international financial markets and in managing the economic crises that emanate from them.
'Panitch and Konings do a marvellous job in bringing together a set of innovative and rigorous chapters that throw critical light on the obscure and complex nature of the American Empire and its role in shaping the landscape of contemporary capitalism. This book is essential reading in understanding how the world works.' - Susanne Soederberg, Canada Research Chair, Global Development Studies, Queen's University, Canada
'This work, written by some of the world's finest scholars on the topic, breaks new ground by demonstrating how finance is anchored in the social structure of the United States in profound and often unique ways. This takes the book far beyond routine assessments of how a dominant political and economic power translates its superiority into financial clout; compared to Europe, let alone the rest of the world, American capitalism also connects a wide variety of interests directly into the financial system. If Gramsci once said that in the United States hegemony grows directly in the factory, this collection demonstrates that it is also directly translated into hegemony in the global financial system. Are we now witness to its demise? At a time of profound financial disturbance, no student of global political economy can afford to ignore this eminent collection.' - Kees van der Pijl, Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex, UK, and author of Global Rivalries from the Cold War to Iraq
Preface
Introduction; L.Panitch & M.Konings
PART I: CONTOURS AND SOURCES OF IMPERIAL FINANCE
Finance and American Empire; L.Panitch & S.Gindin
American Finance and Empire in Historical Perspective; M.Konings
PART II: CONSTRUCTING THE PILLARS OF IMPERIAL FINANCE
US Structural Power and the Internationalization of the US Treasury; D.Sarai
Neo-Liberalism and the Federal Reserve; E.Newstadt
US Power and the International Bond Market: Financial Flows and the Construction of Risk Value; S.Aquanno
Towards the Americanization of European Finance? The Case of Finance-Led Accumulation in Germany; T.Sablowski
Accounting for Financial Capital. American Hegemony and the Conflict over International Accounting Standards; T.Sablowski
From Bretton Woods to Neoliberal Reforms: The International Financial Institutions and American Power; R.Felder
The Role of Financial Discipline in Imperial Strategy; C.Rude
Conclusion; M.Konings & L.Panitch
LEO PANITCH is the Canada Research Chair in Comparative Political Economy and Distinguished Research Professor at York University, Toronto and the co-editor of the Socialist Register.
MARTIJN KONINGS recently completed a PhD on the rise of American Finance at York University and is currently a Researcher in the Amsterdam Institute for Metropolitan and International Development Studies at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Description
The relationship between states and globalization is one of the burning questions of our time. Providing a lively critique of how international and comparative political economy misjudge the relationship between markets and states, this book demonstrates the American state's central place in today's world of globalized finance. While US military interventions draw most attention to the imperial nature of the American state, the highly original contributions here show how US power is embedded in the structures of global finance. The first part of the volume examines the contours and sources of American financial power, and the second part traces the processes through which the pillars of American power in global finance have been constructed. Taking the analysis right up to the present situation, this book powerfully reveals the role the American state plays in the expansion of international financial markets and in managing the economic crises that emanate from them.
Reviews
'Panitch and Konings do a marvellous job in bringing together a set of innovative and rigorous chapters that throw critical light on the obscure and complex nature of the American Empire and its role in shaping the landscape of contemporary capitalism. This book is essential reading in understanding how the world works.' - Susanne Soederberg, Canada Research Chair, Global Development Studies, Queen's University, Canada
'This work, written by some of the world's finest scholars on the topic, breaks new ground by demonstrating how finance is anchored in the social structure of the United States in profound and often unique ways. This takes the book far beyond routine assessments of how a dominant political and economic power translates its superiority into financial clout; compared to Europe, let alone the rest of the world, American capitalism also connects a wide variety of interests directly into the financial system. If Gramsci once said that in the United States hegemony grows directly in the factory, this collection demonstrates that it is also directly translated into hegemony in the global financial system. Are we now witness to its demise? At a time of profound financial disturbance, no student of global political economy can afford to ignore this eminent collection.' - Kees van der Pijl, Professor of International Relations, University of Sussex, UK, and author of Global Rivalries from the Cold War to Iraq
Contents
Preface
Introduction; L.Panitch & M.Konings
PART I: CONTOURS AND SOURCES OF IMPERIAL FINANCE
Finance and American Empire; L.Panitch & S.Gindin
American Finance and Empire in Historical Perspective; M.Konings
PART II: CONSTRUCTING THE PILLARS OF IMPERIAL FINANCE
US Structural Power and the Internationalization of the US Treasury; D.Sarai
Neo-Liberalism and the Federal Reserve; E.Newstadt
US Power and the International Bond Market: Financial Flows and the Construction of Risk Value; S.Aquanno
Towards the Americanization of European Finance? The Case of Finance-Led Accumulation in Germany; T.Sablowski
Accounting for Financial Capital. American Hegemony and the Conflict over International Accounting Standards; T.Sablowski
From Bretton Woods to Neoliberal Reforms: The International Financial Institutions and American Power; R.Felder
The Role of Financial Discipline in Imperial Strategy; C.Rude
Conclusion; M.Konings & L.Panitch
Authors
LEO PANITCH is the Canada Research Chair in Comparative Political Economy and Distinguished Research Professor at York University, Toronto and the co-editor of the Socialist Register.
MARTIJN KONINGS recently completed a PhD on the rise of American Finance at York University and is currently a Researcher in the Amsterdam Institute for Metropolitan and International Development Studies at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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