International monetary hierarchy and the geopolitical power of dollar

Abstract

This article adopts a theoretical-structural approach to analyze the international monetary hierarchy and the geopolitical power of the dollar. The international monetary hierarchy is examined through a geopolitical lens, in contrast to approaches centered on market-based calculations. The article advances the hypothesis that the international financial and monetary system (IFMS), dominated by the dollar, constitutes an international monetary territory whose rules are organized by the Federal Reserve (Fed), the White House, and the Pentagon. In this context, the power of the dollar manifests itself as part of the complex structural power of the United States, operating autonomously upon other countries integrated into this monetary territory. Such insertion is coercive, particularly for peripheral countries, due to external constraints that prevent them from using their own currencies within the IFMS. In the case of Latin America, which is integrated into the system in a dependent manner, it is argued that one of the main geopolitical costs of the international monetary hierarchy is public debt.

Keywords: International monetary hierarchy; international financial and monetary system; geopolitics of the dollar; monetary territory.