POWER, CURRENCY AND HEGEMONY

A LITTLE TOLD STORY ABOUT THE RISE OF THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

The monetary field was fundamental for sustaining British and American hegemonies. The use of their national currencies as an international currency gave these nations, in their respective periods of hegemony, immense power on the global stage. In the rubble of the Second World War, the construction of US hegemony used a high degree of coercion through financial and monetary elements. From the outset, Washington sought to weaken what remained of English monetary power. Anchored in research on the intrinsic relationship between currency and power in International Political Economy, this article intends to explore the little-known dimension of monetary violence during the process of substitution of replacing British hegemony with US hegemony. The article discusses three key moments of monetary violence, the process of financing the Second World War, the implementation of the Bretton Woods regime and, finally, the financial war practiced during the Suez Canal crisis. Therefore, the article concludes that the currency and financial dimensions were not only relevant in the management of periods of hegemony, but played important roles in their transition process.