The European Neoliberal Order and the Eurocrisis: Blame it all on Germany?

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World Review of Political Economy

Volume 7, Issue 3

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The European Neoliberal Order and the Eurocrisis: Blame it all on Germany?

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Author(s): José Manuel Pureza , Mariana Mortágua

Publication date (Print): Fall 2016

Journal: World Review of Political Economy

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: Eurocrisis, global imperialist chain, social capital, new regionalism

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Abstract

This article reads the current Eurocrisis going far beyond the classical linear explanations of the dualism between an imperialist core and a victimised periphery. Instead, it mobilises the concepts of social capital and of global imperialist chain to demonstrate the continuum between the agendas of the dominant classes in both the core and the periphery and the use of intergovernmental regional organisations as privileged tools for their strategies of exposing national capitals to international competition. Seen from this point of view, the current Eurocrisis is something far more complex than a mere exercise of domination of a major power (Germany, in this case) over peripheral economies: it is part of a strategy of redesigning the traditional model of welfare state, in which the Euro and the European Monetary Union work as dispositives of an hegemonic approach useful for the national bourgeoisies of the entire European space.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): worlrevipoliecon

Title: World Review of Political Economy

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 2042891X

ISSN (Electronic): 20428928

Publication date (Print): Fall 2016

Volume: 7

Issue: 3

Pages: 363-381

Article

Publisher ID: worlrevipoliecon.7.3.0363

DOI: 10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.7.3.0363

SO-VID: 57d14a69-c8ff-4d87-8bd2-49725f283898

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History

References

Arrighi, G. 1993. “The Three Hegemonies of Historical Capitalism.” In Gramsci, Historical Materialism and International Relations , edited by Stephen Gill, 49–66. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bellofiore, R., F. Garibaldo, and M. Mortágua. 2015. “A Credit-Money and Structural Perspective on the European Crisis: Why Exiting the Euro Is the Answer to the Wrong Question.” Review of Keynesian Economics 3 (4): 471–90.
Bibow, J. 2006. “The Euro Area Drifting Apart—Does Reform of Labor Markets Deliver Competitive Stability or Competitive Divergence?” In Structural Reforms and Macroeconomic Policy , edited by ETUC, 76–86. Brussels: ETUC.
Bibow, J. 2012. “The Euro Debt Crisis and Germany's Euro Trilemma,” Levy Economics Institute, working paper 721, The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
Bindseil, U., and P. J. Kning. 2011. “The Economics of Target 2 Balances.” SFB 649 discussion paper 2011–035, Humboldt-Universität, Berlin.
Braillard, P., and P. Senarclens. 1981. El imperialismo . México: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Cerny, P. 1997. “Paradoxes of the Competition State: The Dynamics of Political Globalization.” Government and Opposition 32 (2): 251–74.
Cox, R. 1981. “Social Forces, States and World Orders.” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 10: 126–55.
Cox, R. 1989. “Production, the State and Change in World Order.” In Global Changes and Theoretical Challenges: Approaches to World Politics for the 1990's (Issues in World Politics) , edited by Ernst Czempiel and James Rosenau, 37–50. Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan.
Cox, R. 1993. “Gramsci, Hegemony and International Relations: An Essay in Method.” In Gramsci, Historical Materialism and International Relations , edited by Stephen Gill, 148–85. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Desai, R. 2013. Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire . London: Pluto Press.
European Central Bank. 2011. Annual Report. Accessed March 16, 2016. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/annrep/ar2011en.pdf.
Flassbeck, H. 2007. “Wage Divergences in Euroland: Explosive in the Making.” In Euroland and the World Economy: Global Player or Global Drag? edited by J. Bibow and A. Terzi, 43–52. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Garber, P. M. 1999. “The TARGET Mechanism: Will It Propagate or Stifle a Stage III Crisis?” Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy 51: 195–220.
Giavazzi, F., and L. Spaventa. 2010. “Why the Current Account May Matter in a Monetary Union: Lessons from the Financial Crisis in the Euro Area.” CEPR discussion papers 8008, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London.
Gilpin, R. 1981. War and Change in International Politics . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hein, E. 2012. “The Crisis of Finance-Dominated Capitalism in the Euro Area: Deficiencies in the Economic Policy Architecture, and Deflationary Stagnation Policies.” Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, working paper 734, The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
Hein, E., T. Achim, and T. van Treeck. 2011. “The European Financial and Economic Crisis: Alternative Solutions from a (Post-)Keynesian Perspective.” Macroeconomic Policy Institute working paper 9–2011, Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK), Düsseldorf, Germany.
Helleiner, E. 1994. States and the Re-emergence of Global Finance: From Bretton Woods to the 1990's . New York: Cornell University Press.
Keohane, R. 1984. After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy . Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Kiely, R. 2014. “Imperialism or Globalisation? … Or Imperialism and Globalisation: Theorising the International after Rosenberg's ‘Post-mortem'.” Journal of International Relations and Development 17: 274–300.
Kindleberger, C. 1973. The World in Depression: 1929–1939 . Berkeley: University of California Press.
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Lucarelli, B. 2011. “German Neomercantilism and the European Sovereign Debt Crisis.” Journal of Post Keynesian Economics 34 (2): 205–24.
Milbradt, G. 2012. “The Derailed Policies of the ECB.” CESifo Forum 13: 43–49.
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Milios, J., and D. Sotiropoulos. 2010. “Crisis of Greece or Crisis of the Euro? A View from the European ‘Periphery’.” Journal of Balkan & Near Eastern Studies 12: 223–40.
Ntampoudi, I. 2014. “The Eurozone Crisis and the Politics of Blaming: The Cases of Germany and Greece.” Political Perspectives 8 (2): 1–20.
Roberts, A. 2010. The Logic of Discipline: Global Capitalism and the Architecture of Government . New York: Oxford University Press.
Robinson, B. 2004. A Theory of Global Capitalism . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Ruggie, J. G. 1982. “International Regimes, Transactions and Change: Embedded Liberalism in the Postwar Economic Order.” International Organization 36: 379–415.
Sinn, H.-W., and T. Wollmershäuser. 2011. “Target Loans, Current Account Balances and Capital Flows: The ECB's Rescue Facility.” CESifo working paper series 3500. Accessed March 16, 2016. http://www.ifo.de/portal/pls/portal/docs/1/1212000.PDF.
Spindler, M. 2002. “New Regionalism and the Construction of Global Order.” Working paper 93/02, Centre for the Study of Globalization and Regionalisation, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.
Stockhammer, E. 2011. “Peripheral Europe's Debt and German Wages: The Role of Wage Policy in the Euro Area.” International Journal of Public Policy 7: 83–96.
Veblen, T. 1904. The Theory of the Business Enterprise . New Brunswick: Transaction Books.

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Arrighi, G. 1993. “The Three Hegemonies of Historical Capitalism.” In Gramsci, Historical Materialism and International Relations , edited by Stephen Gill, 49–66. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[2] Bellofiore, R., F. Garibaldo, and M. Mortágua. 2015. “A Credit-Money and Structural Perspective on the European Crisis: Why Exiting the Euro Is the Answer to the Wrong Question.” Review of Keynesian Economics 3 (4): 471–90.

[3] Bibow, J. 2006. “The Euro Area Drifting Apart—Does Reform of Labor Markets Deliver Competitive Stability or Competitive Divergence?” In Structural Reforms and Macroeconomic Policy , edited by ETUC, 76–86. Brussels: ETUC.

[4] Bibow, J. 2012. “The Euro Debt Crisis and Germany's Euro Trilemma,” Levy Economics Institute, working paper 721, The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

[5] Bindseil, U., and P. J. Kning. 2011. “The Economics of Target 2 Balances.” SFB 649 discussion paper 2011–035, Humboldt-Universität, Berlin.

[6] Braillard, P., and P. Senarclens. 1981. El imperialismo . México: Fondo de Cultura Económica.

[7] Cerny, P. 1997. “Paradoxes of the Competition State: The Dynamics of Political Globalization.” Government and Opposition 32 (2): 251–74.

[8] Cox, R. 1981. “Social Forces, States and World Orders.” Millennium: Journal of International Studies 10: 126–55.

[9] Cox, R. 1989. “Production, the State and Change in World Order.” In Global Changes and Theoretical Challenges: Approaches to World Politics for the 1990's (Issues in World Politics) , edited by Ernst Czempiel and James Rosenau, 37–50. Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan.

[10] Cox, R. 1993. “Gramsci, Hegemony and International Relations: An Essay in Method.” In Gramsci, Historical Materialism and International Relations , edited by Stephen Gill, 148–85. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[11] Desai, R. 2013. Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire . London: Pluto Press.

[12] European Central Bank. 2011. Annual Report. Accessed March 16, 2016. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/annrep/ar2011en.pdf.

[13] Flassbeck, H. 2007. “Wage Divergences in Euroland: Explosive in the Making.” In Euroland and the World Economy: Global Player or Global Drag? edited by J. Bibow and A. Terzi, 43–52. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

[14] Garber, P. M. 1999. “The TARGET Mechanism: Will It Propagate or Stifle a Stage III Crisis?” Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy 51: 195–220.

[15] Giavazzi, F., and L. Spaventa. 2010. “Why the Current Account May Matter in a Monetary Union: Lessons from the Financial Crisis in the Euro Area.” CEPR discussion papers 8008, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London.

[16] Gilpin, R. 1981. War and Change in International Politics . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[17] Hein, E. 2012. “The Crisis of Finance-Dominated Capitalism in the Euro Area: Deficiencies in the Economic Policy Architecture, and Deflationary Stagnation Policies.” Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, working paper 734, The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

[18] Hein, E., T. Achim, and T. van Treeck. 2011. “The European Financial and Economic Crisis: Alternative Solutions from a (Post-)Keynesian Perspective.” Macroeconomic Policy Institute working paper 9–2011, Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute (IMK), Düsseldorf, Germany.

[19] Helleiner, E. 1994. States and the Re-emergence of Global Finance: From Bretton Woods to the 1990's . New York: Cornell University Press.

[20] Keohane, R. 1984. After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy . Princeton: Princeton University Press.

[21] Kiely, R. 2014. “Imperialism or Globalisation? … Or Imperialism and Globalisation: Theorising the International after Rosenberg's ‘Post-mortem'.” Journal of International Relations and Development 17: 274–300.

[22] Kindleberger, C. 1973. The World in Depression: 1929–1939 . Berkeley: University of California Press.

[23] Lapavitsas, C., Kaltenbrunner, A., Lindo, D., Michell, J., Painceira, J. P., Pires, E., Powell, J., Stenfors, A., and Teles, N. 2010. “Eurozone Crisis: Beggar Thyself and Thy Neighbour.” Journal of Balkan & Near Eastern Studies 12 (4): 321–73.

[24] Lucarelli, B. 2011. “German Neomercantilism and the European Sovereign Debt Crisis.” Journal of Post Keynesian Economics 34 (2): 205–24.

[25] Milbradt, G. 2012. “The Derailed Policies of the ECB.” CESifo Forum 13: 43–49.

[26] Milios, J., and D. Sotiropoulos. 2009. Rethinking Imperialism: A Study of Capitalist Rule . Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

[27] Milios, J., and D. Sotiropoulos. 2010. “Crisis of Greece or Crisis of the Euro? A View from the European ‘Periphery’.” Journal of Balkan & Near Eastern Studies 12: 223–40.

[28] Ntampoudi, I. 2014. “The Eurozone Crisis and the Politics of Blaming: The Cases of Germany and Greece.” Political Perspectives 8 (2): 1–20.

[29] Roberts, A. 2010. The Logic of Discipline: Global Capitalism and the Architecture of Government . New York: Oxford University Press.

[30] Robinson, B. 2004. A Theory of Global Capitalism . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

[31] Ruggie, J. G. 1982. “International Regimes, Transactions and Change: Embedded Liberalism in the Postwar Economic Order.” International Organization 36: 379–415.

[32] Sinn, H.-W., and T. Wollmershäuser. 2011. “Target Loans, Current Account Balances and Capital Flows: The ECB's Rescue Facility.” CESifo working paper series 3500. Accessed March 16, 2016. http://www.ifo.de/portal/pls/portal/docs/1/1212000.PDF.

[33] Spindler, M. 2002. “New Regionalism and the Construction of Global Order.” Working paper 93/02, Centre for the Study of Globalization and Regionalisation, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK.

[34] Stockhammer, E. 2011. “Peripheral Europe's Debt and German Wages: The Role of Wage Policy in the Euro Area.” International Journal of Public Policy 7: 83–96.

[35] Veblen, T. 1904. The Theory of the Business Enterprise . New Brunswick: Transaction Books.

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The European Neoliberal Order and the Eurocrisis: Blame it all on Germany?

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