Watson, Matthew, Ph.D.. (2002) Sand in the wheels, or oiling the wheels, of international finance? New Labour's appeal to a 'new Bretton Woods'. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, Vol.4 (No.2). pp. 193-221. ISSN 1369-1481

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Abstract

Tony Blair’s political instinct typically is to associate himself only with the future. As such, his explicit appeal to ‘the past’ in his references to New Labour’s desire to establish a “new Bretton Woods” is sufficient in itself to arouse some degree of analytical curiosity (see Blair 1998a). The fact that this appeal was made specifically in relation to Bretton Woods is even more interesting. The resonant image of the international economic context established by the original Bretton Woods agreements invokes a style and content of policy-making which Tony Blair typically dismisses as neither economically nor politically consistent with his preferred vision of the future (see Blair 2000c, 2001b).

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference (1944 : Bretton Woods, N.H.), Labour Party (Great Britain), International economic relations, Great Britain -- Economic policy -- 1997-, Great Britain -- Politics and government -- 1997-
Journal or Publication Title:	British Journal of Politics and International Relations
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
ISSN:	1369-1481
Date:	June 2002
Volume:	Vol.4
Number:	No.2
Page Range:	pp. 193-221
Identification Number:	10.1111/1467-856X.t01-2-00002
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/2140

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