The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War
by Nicholas Mulder. Yale, 434 pp., £25, March, 978 0 300 25936 0
There is a striking asymmetry in the global economy. In terms of trade and GDP the world has three poles: the United States, the EU and China. But in the international financial system a single state has overwhelming power. The vast majority of transnational payments are routed through US banks. US treasury bonds are the de facto reserve asset around the world. The Fed is the global supplier of liquidity in times of crisis. National economies respond on a hair trigger to US monetary policy. Giant American and European financial institutions, based for the most part in the US, control a large share of international corporate activity. Läs artikel