Description: Brings Keynes's International Currency Union idea of deweaponising and stabilising the global monetary and trading system into the 21st century.
Brief description: Heikki Patomäki is Professor of World Politics at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Previously he has also worked as a Professor of World Politics and Economy at the Nottingham Trent University, UK, and RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. In 2012 he acted as a Visiting Professor at the Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. Patomäki's research interests include philosophy and methodology of social sciences, peace research, futures studies, economic theory, global political economy, and global political theory. His most recent book is The Political Economy of Global Security. War, Future Crises and Changes in Global Governance (Routledge, 2008). He is currently working on two new books, Unprincipled Economics (with Jamie Morgan) and Global Futures. Patomäki is a founding member of NIGD (Network Institute for Global Democratisation) and has also been an activist in the international ATTAC movement from its inception, currently chairing ATTAC Finland.
Review Quotes:
"As the Trump presidency sets about collapsing the existing world order and China and the BRICs countries explore alternatives to the dollar, there is an urgent need for sound monetary alternatives to the system of a single sovereign reserve currency. That is why the publication of this book could not be more timely. Its contributors - monetary experts all - expound with considerable authority on sound alternatives to the imbalances and instability of the current world order. I recommend it highly to scholars, policymakers and those activists wanting to build a more peaceful world." --Ann Pettifor, Director Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME), UK
"This edited volume on the pivotal importance of an international clearing union (of some form) to steer the current fast-fragmenting system of international economic governance away from the precipice of conflict could not come at a timelier moment. It is unique in rendering a potentially technical subject matter very accessible to a wide audience by combining a well-informed re-take on historical debates with a range of contemporary perspectives on ways forward - technically, politically and institutionally. It also stands out for its explicit consideration of the concerns of developing countries.In short, this is an absolute must for anyone, not just economists, with an interest in exploring ambitious yet also realistic proposals to achieve long over-due reforms of global economic governance that recognize past failures and that support the long-ignored ambitions and capabilities of developing countries, in the process." --Stephanie Blankenburg, Ms, UNCTAD, Switzerland