Wherever there is money, there is money politics-a subject demanding ever greater attention at a time when monetary policies lead and the real economy follows. A principal defining characteristic of the contemporary global economy, Jonathan Kirshner contends, is the rise and preeminence of monetary phenomena—international financial crises, Central Bank Independence and inflation fighting, the creation of the euro, and monetary reform in emerging economies, to name only a few. Moreover, unlike most debates in political economy (such as those regarding trade policy), which are generally recognized as political, monetary phenomena and macroeconomic policies are typically represented as expressly apolitical. In Monetary Orders, a distinguished group of scholars explores the inescapable political origins of choices about money. The essays in Monetary Orders each address a specific issue or puzzle relating to money and its management. Their authors focus on markedly disparate cases but share a common observation: for most policy choices about money, market forces and economic logic can rule out certain options, but are indeterminate in explaining why one policy rather than another will be chosen. Ultimately, political factors are essential to explain fundamental and consequential choices about money.

Jonathan Kirshner is Director of the Peace Studies Program and a Professor of Government at Cornell University. His primary field is International Relations (IR). His research follows two broad themes: 1) the political economy of Money and Monetary Politics and 2) the intersection of Political Economy and National Security (PENS). Kirshner's first book, Currency and Coercion: The Political Economy of International Monetary Power (Princeton University Press, 1995) integrated these two interests with an exploration of how states can and have manipulated international monetary relations to advance security-related goals. His second book,Appeasing Bankers: Financial Caution on the Road to War (Princeton University Press, forthcoming 2007), considers how financial interests and international financial markets can shape and constrain states' grand strategies. He has also edited the volumes Monetary Orders: Ambiguous Economics, Ubiquitous Politics(Cornell University Press, 2003) and Globalization and National Security (Routledge, 2006); and is the co-editor (with Eric Helleiner) of the multi-disciplinary book seriesCornell Studies in Money (Cornell University Press). Kirshner is currently the director of the International Political Economy Program at the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, Cornell University.