Read Online Currency Statecraft: Monetary Rivalry And Geopolitical Ambition Depicted By Benjamin J. Cohen Formatted As Audio Books

framework to understand the stages in the currency cycle is good, But the rest seems very fluffy and much more could have been delivered, Overall a good read Elegant theory and empirical study of postwar international currency strategies,/Stars.

An interesting examination of the geopolitical factors of currency internationalization policy choices, Cohen moves away from economic orthodoxy what he calls the Immaculate Conception of Power to provide a more complex view of why states make the policy choices they do.
When a currency gains prominence on the international stage, that its issuing state will try to grow that power is not a given policy choices, Cohen theorizes, are instead conditioned on geopolitical ambition.
Do states wants to see their currencies become international, and experience both the benefits and burdens of monetary power History shows that, in fact, modern states have often opted against growing their influence, choosing instead to resist internationalization in a bid to maintain internal stability, or to take a passive route, to make a strategic nonchoice.


The rise of China's renminbi to international currency status has challenged the American position as the top currency power.
Cohen aims to show us how this conflict emerged, and where it may lead us,

My limited knowledge on currency internationalizion showed in how long some sections of this book took me.
In some ways, I found myself educated, The obscurities of currency power are detailed in clear, understandable terms and paint an interesting picture that connects money, from the realm of pure economics, to geopolitical power struggles.
In particular, Cohen's ideas about the role of geopolitical ambition in currency internationalization are very compelling,

However, Cohen's theory is a touch incomplete, He essentially argues the humans have opposable thumbs that they use to give them an advantage over other animals.
What those advantages are how they translate from the realm of tool making to science to industrialization is left explored.
Having demonstated that states make policy choices that affect the use of their currency is clear, but little time is granted to demonstrating what that means when we move into the political, and away from the economical, realm.
What attention is given to us if focused on a narrow selection of US case studies, but even these are devoid of noneconomic implications.


Further, though he bases his logic on constructivist ideas the national identity of the state and its role in forming geopolitical ambitions is very interesting, Cohen's arguments take on a very realist perspective.
The state is the central and only actor we encounter, despite the complex roles played by nonstate actors in international finance.
The actions of the hegemon are weighted considerably more than those of currency users, despite Cohen's insistence that currency use shapes the effectiveness of issuer strategies.
And the Chapter on interstate rivalry, in which the discussion on SinoAmerican conflict in regard to currency is discussed, sees currency statecraft as zero sum.
Complexities about the ideational and normative dominance of the West in financial policy are left unmentioned rivalry is boiled down to fights over influence, a political science tradition that should be left in its Cold War past.


So, overall, tldr is that I wanted more from Cohen's theory it did not push as far as it needed to on the politics side, but instead lived safely in the realm of economics while saying some political things.
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 countrys 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.
 
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