Drawing on numerous interviews with high-ranking and founding members of the European Central Bank (ECB), Karl Kaltenthaler identifies and explains the factors that shape the bank's domestic and international monetary strategies. As at all institutions, politics are very much involved in policy-making at the ECB. Kaltenthaler finds that instead of being unconcerned with how the bank's policies impact the citizens of the Eurozone, the central bankers desire to keep the economy healthy. This desire is driven by the central bankers' two primary personal preferences: to appear competent to as...

Drawing on numerous interviews with high-ranking and founding members of the European Central Bank (ECB), Karl Kaltenthaler identifies and explains the factors that shape the bank's domestic and international monetary strategies. As at all institutions, politics are very much involved in policy-making at the ECB. Kaltenthaler finds that instead of being unconcerned with how the bank's policies impact the citizens of the Eurozone, the central bankers desire to keep the economy healthy. This desire is driven by the central bankers' two primary personal preferences: to appear competent to as...

As countries in the European Union struggle to comply with the Maastricht Treaty, the question of monetary integration is at the forefront of European politics. "Germany and the Politics of Europe's Money" explores how and why Germany--whose economic power makes it a pivotal player in the European monetary system--has developed inconsistent policies toward European monetary institutions and how international institutions affect domestic politics that, in turn, influence state policies toward these institutions.
Moving away from state-centered and Marxist approaches to the study of the...

Traces the dynamics of German policy toward the European Monetary System and develops a new analytical framework for deciphering how international institutions affect domestic politics and how, in turn, domestic politics influence state policies towards t