Global Finance, Risk and Governance

• Published in: Global society : journal of interdisciplinary international relations 2007-01, Vol.21 (1), p.71-93
• Main Author: Germain, Randall D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Finance; Financial institutions; Globalization; Governance; Institutional change; Institutions; International governance; International political economy; Marxism; Materialism; Regulation; Risk; World order
• ISSN: 1360-0826; 1469-798X
• DOI: 10.1080/13600820601116542

This article puts forward three linked sets of claims. First, it argues that Robert W. Cox's framework of historical materialism can be adapted to articulate a suitable conceptual schema for understanding financial governance at the global level. Second, it emphasises how globally oriented financial institutions have increasingly become purveyors of "risk products", with the effect that modalities of financial governance have been altered towards a more market-oriented and globalised form. Finally, it considers the extent to which Cox's claim that the structure of world order is becoming non-hegemonic can be illustrated with respect to the implications of governance outlined above. The argument pursued in the article is that institutional changes make possible a shift in the modalities of financial regulation, away from an emphasis on rules geared towards specific activities and more towards procedures targeted at the actual capacities of financial institutions and towards the development of a more fully globalised policy framework. The future of financial governance has thus become more globalised in scope and our conceptual understanding of governance should reflect this development more adequately.