5T5Z0016: International Political Economy

Running head: IMF AND GLOBAL HEGEMON
IMF and global hegemon
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

IMF AND GLOBAL HEGEMON
Hegemony is a kind of political or economic predominance or any control of one state
over others. Hegemony can also be defined as the social predominance which is exerted by
one group within a particular society. According to the theory of the International relations it
is denoted as a situation of asymmetry in favour of the own state who generally has enough
military power to defeat the potential contester. Hegemony can also be stated as the
dominance of one group over the other which are generally supported by legimating norms
along with various ideas (Researchgate.net. 2018). Gramsci’s analysis of the bourgeois
hegemony is usually grounded in detail historical analysis. However, it carries implication in
case of revolutionary socialist strategies.
Theories of hegemony states Hegemonic stability theory states that any particular
international system like those of IMF, World Bank and WTO is likely to remain stable in
those case where any kind of single nation state is in the dominant world power (Nelson
2015). There are basically four approaches of hegemony which consists of the conventional
approach, the neoliberal approach, the Gramscian approach and the radical approach. The
logic of the state and the markets are distinct.
Relationship between markets and states in the political economy
The International Monetary Fund have always played a significant role in most parts
of the Middle East by funding for the middle and low income countries (Güven 2017). The
financial crisis of 2008 has brought close both the limitations of the role of International
Monetary Fund and limitations of neo liberal economic policy.
Role of IMF in the global economic system
The significant goal of the International Monetary Fund is to bring stability in the
economy and growth along with peace, security and democracy. The programmes of IMF
have brought the benefits for majority of people. The International Monetary Fund also helps

IMF AND GLOBAL HEGEMON
in protecting the interest of the transnational class which will be benefitting the global
financial system which are free of restraints which is also stated as a fund policy. In this sense
it can be stated that the system is dominated by the hegemonic class. Although the hegemony
does not have a global reach. It can also be said that the International Monetary Fund is the
product of the US hegemony. Hegemony comprises elements of both coercion and consent.
Which is also characterised by the control over the private sphere (Researchgate.net. 2018).
The principles on which most of the monetary regime was purely based had been mostly
derived from the beliefs of the architects of the US who usually favours liberal approach and
from Great Britain which favours Keynesian theory. The unlimited access of financing will
not always help in promoting long term policies of stabilities. This had led to the dual roles of
the IMF as the overseer of the exchange rates. There was a strong belief that the main focus
of the IMF is to maintain the health of the economy of the industrialised countries. The
formation of the IMF was also significant in “locking countries in U.S centred economic
order”. The international money system which is dependent on gold have changed a lot after
the second world war which has enabled the United States for acting as a hegemony in the
international area. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank had been
established in order to deign the international economic order (Nelson 2015). The main goals
of the IMF is to increase the expectancy of life, improve international trade and provide
financial support to the member countries.
Rules facilitating hegemonic world order
Hegemony mostly depends on the intellectual leadership of the dominant social group
which comprises of two sources (Mittelman and Falk 2018). One is social hegemony and the
other is social coercive power. The rules which supports the hegemonic power of the social
group which the International Monetary Fund supports are mainly those of neoliberal
economic policy. The rules are generally expressed in the Fund’s Articles of Agreement. The