Ruling the World: Power Politics and the Rise of Supranational Institutions. By Lloyd Gruber. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000. 316p. $70.00 cloth, $24.95 paper.

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 518-519
Author(s):  
Alan Cafruny

The salience of supranational structures of governance in- creased dramatically during the last decade. The World Trade Organization (WTO) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), for example, not only establish de- tailed norms, rules, and decision-making procedures but also endow supranational governing boards with sweeping powers of enforcement. The European Monetary Union (EMU) greatly constrains national sovereignty by eliminating na- tional currencies and allowing the European Central Bank to play a key role in national economic policymaking. In his study of NAFTA and the European Monetary System (EMS), Lloyd Gruber contends that international relations scholars have had difficulty coming to grips with the trend toward global governance because the dominant theoretical approaches-neoliberalism and neorealism-tend to assume incorrectly that international cooperation produces mutual benefits for all contracting parties.

2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 549-552

Daniel Gros of Centre for European Policy Studies reviews, “Making the European Monetary Union: The Role of the Committee of Central Bank Governors and the Origins of the European Central Bank” by Harold James. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores the creation of the European Monetary Union and considers its design, process, and risks. Discusses a Napoleonic prelude; the origins of the Committee of Governors; the response to global monetary turbulence; the metaphor of the snake; negotiating the European Monetary System; the malaise of the 1980s; the Delors Committee and the relaunching of Europe; designing a central bank; and the European Monetary System crises. James is Claude and Lore Kelly Professor in European Studies and Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University.”


1979 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 5-12 ◽  

The most striking feature of the Bremen proposals for a new European Monetary System (EMS) was the scepticism, and in many cases hostility, with which they were received by professional economists. The main positions on macro-economic questions—orthodox, monetarist and international monetarist—were all represented among the economists who submitted written evidence to the House of Commons Expenditure Committee, when it examined the EMS proposals last November. All doubted whether the proposals, so far as they were then known, could work, and some predicted an early breakdown. Some took the view that, even if the scheme could work, it would not be to Britain's advantage to join. Such convergence of opinion among professional economists, with monetarists and Keynesians appearing to be in the same camp, is sufficiently unusual to deserve notice. Nor is this just an example of the British giving voice to the prevalent anti-European feeling. German economists, represented for example by the five Institutes, have been similarly sceptical.


2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 533-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Lelart

The evolution of the international monetary System prompted the nine members of the E.E.C. to establish a European Monetary System. The new statutes of the I.M.F. have in fact legalized the practice of flexible exchange rates and sanctioned the dollar's inconvertibility while eliminating the role of gold. Further, the increasing importance of the international capital markets fosters the unlimited expansion of international liquidities. it is in response to this context then that Europe seeks to create a zone of stability and to manage its own international tender in accordance with rules that it has set for itself. The author draws a positive conclusion as the System has operated without major problems so far. Nevertheless, difficulties remain: the international environment has not improved given the abrupt strengthening of the dollar and the increase in American interest rates. In addition, progress with regard to cooperation among the Nine remains slow and political change in France makes any prognosis respecting the future of the European Monetary System difficult. It was anticipated that the System would be Consolidated rapidly. It would in that event contribute more effectively to the stability of the international monetary System. It could, on the other hand, sharpen competition between Europe and the United States, between the Ecu and S.D.Rs. and between the European Monetary Fund and the International Monetary Fund.


2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick G. M. C. Nieuwland ◽  
Willem F. C. Verschoor ◽  
Christian C. P. Wolff

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