Keywords

Dollar hegemony, ipe, china, renminbi, currency, exchange rate, power struggle, us china relations

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the current disputes between the United States and China over the exchange rate of the Chinese currency renminbi using an International Political Economy (IPE) analysis. Monetary relations are not mere economic affairs, but bear geopolitical implications. Money is power. Money is politics. The pursuit of monetary power is an important part of great power politics. Based on this assertion, the thesis studies past cases of monetary power struggles between the United States and the Great Britain, the Soviet Union, Japan, and the European Union (EU), respectively. The thesis then investigates the dollar’s status as the dominant international reserve currency in the current international monetary system, as well as the power that this unique status can generate and provide. The dollar’s monetary hegemony has become the main characteristic of the current international monetary system and an important power source for continued U.S. hegemony. The dollar’s hegemony and the asymmetrical interdependency between the dollar and the renminbi are the source and the key basis for the recent U.S.-China monetary disagreements. The U.S.-China monetary disputes reflect not only each country's respective domestic interests and perceived benefits, but also the monetary power struggle between the two biggest global economies. Predictions are also entertained for the future monetary relations between the two countries, as well as the geopolitical implications that this relationship may have for the U.S.-China bilateral relationship in coming decades.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2012

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Morales, Waltraud Q.

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Political Science

Degree Program

Political Science; International Studies

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0004321

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0004321

Language

English

Release Date

May 2012

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Sciences, Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic

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