Beyond BRICS rhetoric and the China challenge, a new book assesses the future of the US dollar and the implications for regions such as the Indo-Pacific.
WonkCount: 1,395 words (~6 minutes)
Review: Dollar Dominance Futures and Indo-Pacific Stakes
Context
“The world will be fragmented, and it’ll be very dangerous for us,” JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said earlier this year in headline-grabbing remarks regarding a future scenario where the U.S. dollar eventually loses its status as the world reserve currency1. While the dollar today still statistically accounts for a majority of official global foreign exchange reserves and the vast majority of global foreign exchange transactions, the future of dollar dominance has continually been subject to scenario forecasts and linked to everything from Washington’s use of international sanctions to perceived de-dollarization bids from institutions such as the BRICS following the grouping’s expansion to include countries from Southeast Asia2.
Select Key Recent Indo-Pacific Geoeconomic and Geopolitical Developments
A new book King Dollar by journalist Paul Blustein assesses the future of the U.S. dollar and the implications for regions such as the Indo-Pacific3. In doing so, it adds to a series of new books that examine the evolving geoeconomic order and Washington’s role within it, including ones previously reviewed on ASEAN Wonk like former International Monetary Fund division chief Eswar Prasad’s Doom Loop and former U.S. official Edward Fishman’s Chokepoints4. “Much is riding on the use of the great power held by the nation with the world’s dominant currency…whether it is wielded responsibly or not should be of profound concern to Americans and non-Americans alike,” the book notes before going on to spell out the current dynamics at play along with some likely future scenarios5.
Analysis
The book also highlights future policy datapoints in this respect (see originally-generated ASEAN Wonk table below for a summary of important contours. Paying subscribers can also read the rest of the “Analysis” section and “Implications” section looking at how these dynamics play out in the future).
Future Policy Datapoints to Watch, Along With Select Major Tendencies And Key Domains
