A Refreshing Perspective on International Finance

The journal Ephemera – Theory and Politics of Organization has published a review of Jakob Vestergaard’s book, Discipline in the global economy? International finance and the end of liberalism  (Routledge, 2009):

“Vestergaard, in this interesting and thoughtful book, brings Foucault’s analyses to bear on various aspects of the governance of the global financial system. Vestergaard argues that the East Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s marked a turning point for such governance. In particular, he shows that the characteristics of Asian economies were blamed for the crisis while other important factors were ignored. In the aftermath of the crisis, a global disciplinary regime was established that attempted to mould ‘proper’ economies in East Asia and beyond. ‘Proper’ economies were said to be characterised by transparency and ‘sound’ regulations, which was supposed to make them able to compete for global financial resources. This mode of governance, Vestergaard argues, has instead brought further volatility to the global financial system, demonstrated most clearly by the current economic crisis…

Vestergaard concludes the book with a chapter sketching out policy advice for the future governance of the international financial system. In essence, he advocates the application of what Foucault calls the ‘ethos of liberalism’: the constant questioning of whether we are governing too much (or too little). The ongoing economic crisis compels us to reflect on this very question and to think about how we might go about transforming our financial institutions and the wider system of governance and regulation. In sum, Vestergaard’s analysis offers a refreshing perspective on international finance that will be of major value to those of us interested in finance and the global development of capitalism”.

To read the full review, you may download this pdf-file, or visit the Ephemera website.

The review is written by Andreas Jansson, assistant professor of accounting and corporate governance at the School of Management and Economics at Växjö University, Sweden.