Globalisation and Security: The Role of International Financial Institutions in Pacific Asian Security

In 1997/98, an unprecedented crisis hit the economies of hitherto prospering East Asian countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and South Korea. With the exception of Malaysia, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was called in to offer support. The Fund"s rescue packages included severe conditions for both macro-economic and micro-economic adjustment, some of which had far-reaching consequences for economic, legal, and even political systems and have subsequently been criticised in certain quarters for sharpening rather than containing instabilities.
This monograph looks into the impact of IMF (and World Bank) conditionality on the internal and external stability of affected countries as well as on regional cooperation and draws conclusions as to the relevance of security considerations in the context of the reform of international financial institutions.