Giuliana Chamedes
The standard story of the post-World War II international economic order is not wrong, but it is incomplete. Traditional accounts tell us that the alliance between Western Europe and the United States was consolidated immediately after World War II, as a result of the Bretton Woods order, which pegged global currencies to the U.S. dollar and stabilized global economic governance via the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. They explain that the partnership was further strengthened by the conclusion of the Marshall Plan at the start of the Cold War and, in 1957, with the founding of the European Economic Community.
In reality, it was the three major oil shocks of the postwar period—in 1956, 1973, and 1978-79—that helped confirm the alliance between Western Europe and the United States, laying the foundation for today’s political and economic order. They also explain its fragility.
No comments:
Post a Comment