Professor Randall Henning (American University) speaks at the ESM

"Regime Complexity in Crisis Finance: Comparing Regional Financial Arrangements"

The theory of regime complexity addresses the increasing density of international institutions and the patterns of conflict and cooperation among them.  It offers a useful lens through which to analyze the global financial safety net and the relationships among its elements in particular. The presentation emphasizes the use of institutional overlap to control agency “drift” as a common strategy of key states in regime complexes – an argument that is distinct from other theoretical approaches.  Drawing on lessons derived from experience with the euro-crisis rescue programmes, the presentation applies this argument to the relationship between the IMF and financial arrangements in other regions.  We explain in particular why and when regionally dominant states sponsor the creation of new regional institutions (the CMIM, FLAR and the ESM) but often nonetheless insist on continuing to involve the incumbent global multilateral institution (the IMF) in programs.  This approach also offers normative recommendations for the design of regime complexes. 

 

C. Randall Henning is Professor of International Economic Relations at the School of International Service at American University (since 1995) in Washington, D.C. He specialises in international and comparative political economy, global governance and regional integration.  He has focussed recently on the International Monetary Fund, Europe’s Monetary Union, regional financial arrangements (RFA), fiscal federalism, and economic conflict and cooperation in the Group of Twenty.  His previous appointments include service as Visiting Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.  Currently, he is conducting projects on the fragmentation of global financial governance and the interaction among regional and multilateral economic institutions.

This is an ESM research internal seminar. If you would like to attend, please write an email to ESMresearch@esm.europa.eu