International Quarterly of Foreign Relations

International Quarterly of Foreign Relations

The hegemonic position of the US Dollar and the prospect of its challenge by the Euro and the Yuan

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Gholamreza Karimi 1
Mohammad Nasir Zadeh 2
seid saeed mirtorabi 2
1 Associate Professor, International Relations Department, Kharazmi University
2 Department of International Relations, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
After World War II, the United States succeeded in establishing its currency, the Dollar, as the international reference currency, gaining the position of the world's leading economic and military power while leading the capitalist world. The US Dollar, according to existing metrics, still maintains its hegemonic position in the international monetary and financial system. In the new century, events such as the Euro currency supply, the 2008 financial crisis, and China's persistent efforts to internationalize its currency have gone to seriously challenge the hegemonic position of the Dollar. In this regard, the main concern of the article is to look for the factors that perpetuate the hegemony of the Dollar in the international financial and monetary system. The hypothesis tested in this regard is that the continued hegemony of the US dollar relies on the structural strength of the US in both economic and political areas and based on factors such as the depth of the capital market, ease of access to the dollar, security commitments and trust. The paper shows that the lack of these factors in relation to the Euro and the Yuan has prevented them from becoming hegemonic currencies. The findings of this study are very important for our country, which is severely facing the difficulties caused by financial sanctions due to the hegemonic position of the Dollar in the international economy today.
Keywords
Dollar hegemony
Yuan
Euro
International Political Economy
United States
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