Perpetual decline or persistent dominance? Uncovering Anglo-America’s true structural power in global finance

• Published in: Review of international studies Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 3 - 28
• Main Author: Fichtner, Jan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.01.2017
• Subjects: Anglophones; Contradictions; Cooperation; Decision making; Development banks; Economic conditions; GDP; Global economy; Gross Domestic Product; Hegemony; Inequality; International cooperation; International finance; International relations; International relations-US; Legitimacy; Political economy; Political power; Politics; Power; Prediction; Society; Stability; Transnationalism; United States; World economy; United States > US; Anglo-America; US Decline; Structural Power; Hegemony; Global Finance
• ISSN: 0260-2105; 1469-9044
• DOI: 10.1017/S0260210516000206

The prediction of America’s decline is a regularly recurring phenomenon; this also pertains to the pivotal field of global finance. This article argues that, first we have to consider the United States together with the other Anglophone countries. The English-speaking countries and territories – Anglo-America – have deep common political and socioeconomic roots, of which the unique global Five Eyes intelligence cooperation is merely one manifestation. In finance, New York and London (NY-LON) constitute the decision-making core of this transnational formation. Second, to analyse the highly complex phenomenon of structural power in the globalised international political economy we have to dig deeper to uncover truly meaningful data. Thus, this article evaluates data for nine central segments of global finance from around the year 2000 to 2014. Contrary to the assertions of many declinists, these data show that Anglo-America’s dominant structural power has been persistent during this period. Moreover, four novel visualisations show that the US-UK axis is the fulcrum of the international financial system. However, contemporary global finance is characterised by a high degree of latent fragility; significant imbalances, inequalities and contradictions persist and are even likely to grow, potentially undermining the legitimacy and the stability of the whole system.