How are we to understand the politics of international monetary relations since the end of World War II? Exploiting recently declassified documents from both the United States and Europe and employing economic analysis and international relations theory, Francis Gavin offers a compelling reassessment of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates and dollar-gold convertibility.Gavin demonstrates that, contrary to the conventional wisdom, Bretton Woods was a highly politicized system that was prone to crisis and required constant intervention and controls to continue functioning. More important, postwar monetary relations were not a salve to political tensions, as is often contended. In fact, the politicization of the global payments system allowed nations to use monetary coercion to achieve political and security ends, causing deep conflicts within the Western Alliance. For the first time, Gavin reveals how these rifts dramatically affected U.S. political and military strategy during a dangerous period of the Cold War.

弗朗西斯·加文（Francis Gavin）美國德剋薩斯大學奧斯汀分校的湯姆·施立柯國際事務教授，羅伯特施特勞斯中心主任，是一位領先的美國外交政策的學術權威、訓練有素的曆史學傢。他的教學和研究興趣包括美國外交政策，尤其是國傢安全事務、核戰略和軍備控製、總統的決策以及國際貨幣關係的曆史。他是美國羅伯特施特勞斯中心和國際安全法和湯姆斯利剋國際事務教授。