Deweaponizing Interdependence
Bringing the Idea of International Clearing Union into the Twenty-First Century
Heikki Patomaki editor Professor Jamie Morgan editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published:19th Feb '26
£65.00
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Brings Keynes’s International Currency Union idea of deweaponising and stabilising the global monetary and trading system into the 21st century.
The Trump II administration's trade wars and framing of the dollar's reserve status have accelerated concerns about the sustainability of the current monetary and trade system. Against a backdrop of various disintegrative tendencies, this volume re-introduces the concept of International Clearing Union (ICU) and offers an important overview of critical approaches to the prevailing monetary system.
The ICU concept is closely associated with J. M. Keynes but has older origins, diverse sources of debate, and a high degree of contemporary relevance. In discussing the concept this volume examines key contemporary political issues including principles of fairness in trade and finance, de-dollarization, development, exchange rate policy, capital controls, as well as urgent issues of climate emergency and ecological breakdown. It provides perspectives from different disciplines and from the Global North and South and opens up debate regarding new global institutional possibilities.
The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The Finnish Research Council.
As the Trump presidency sets about collapsing the existing world order and China and the BRICs countries explore alternatives to the dollar, there is an urgent need for sound monetary alternatives to the system of a single sovereign reserve currency. That is why the publication of this book could not be more timely. Its contributors - monetary experts all - expound with considerable authority on sound alternatives to the imbalances and instability of the current world order. I recommend it highly to scholars, policymakers and those activists wanting to build a more peaceful world. * Ann Pettifor, Director Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME), UK *
This edited volume on the pivotal importance of an international clearing union (of some form) to steer the current fast-fragmenting system of international economic governance away from the precipice of conflict could not come at a timelier moment. It is unique in rendering a potentially technical subject matter very accessible to a wide audience by combining a well-informed re-take on historical debates with a range of contemporary perspectives on ways forward - technically, politically and institutionally. It also stands out for its explicit consideration of the concerns of developing countries.
In short, this is an absolute must for anyone, not just economists, with an interest in exploring ambitious yet also realistic proposals to achieve long over-due reforms of global economic governance that recognize past failures and that support the long-ignored ambitions and capabilities of developing countries, in the process.
ISBN: 9781350574809
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
304 pages