The Soviet Union and the Construction of the Global Market: Energy and the Ascent of Finance in Cold War Europe, 1964-1971

During the Bretton Woods era, the Soviet Union sought to dismantle the compartmentalized nature of Bretton Woods in order to escape its material ostracism and pave a path to global finance and exchange. This led to the construction of pipelines that helped Europe's energy regime change from coal to oil and gas, developing market relations and a relationship with Western capital as durable as the pipelines themselves.

Format: Hardback
Length: 290 pages
Publication date: 14 September 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Oscar Sanchez-Sibony delves into the origins of our contemporary era, tracing the dissolution of the institutions that shaped energy and finance during the Bretton Woods era. He reveals how, in the second half of the 1960s, the Soviet Union embarked on a mission to dismantle the compartmentalized nature of Bretton Woods, seeking to overcome its material isolation and pave the way for global finance and exchange. Through the construction of a network of pipelines that facilitated the transition of Europe's energy regime from coal to oil and gas, the Soviet Union not only established market relations but also forged a durable relationship with Western capital, comparable to the longevity of the pipelines themselves. Sanchez-Sibony further argues that a comprehensive history of capitalism must incorporate the socialist world to bring about the new form of capitalism that governs our lives today. This transformative shift not only reshaped the global economic landscape but also had profound implications for political and social structures worldwide.

Weight: 535g
ISBN-13: 9781108834544