환율정책과 국가권력: 아시아 금융위기, 국제통화력, 그리고 미국 행정부의 독자적 영역

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explain how the United States achieved its economic and political goals in both Japan and US domestic politics through "strong dollar diplomacy" during the peak of the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998. Theoretically, this paper explores the process in which the United States forced Japan to accept US demands to boost up the stagnating Japanese economy and open up the Japanese market by applying the theory of currency manipulation. In addition, through Jeffrey Frieden"s analytical framework, this paper analyzes how the US administration attained its political aim of meeting the needs of various sectors of the US economy by appreciating the value of the US dollar, facing the mid-term election in 1998. This paper will contribute to the study of political economy of international finance by showing power implications of exchange rate policies of the United States, and relative autonomy of the US administration in making exchange rate policies at a particular juncture of the Asian Financial Crisis.