Peter Burnham presents a detailed, archive-based account of the keys aspects of international monetary relations in the 1950s focusing in particular on Anglo-American policy surrounding the restoration of sterling convertibility. He argues that in 1952 the British government had a unique opportunity to take an almost revolutionary step in the external field to transform the international political economy (through the abolition of the fixed rate system, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Payments Union) and restructure Britain's domestic economy to tackle longstanding productivity, export and labour market problems.

PETER BURNHAM is Reader in Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. He teaches in the areas of British politics and international political economy. Previous publications include The Political Economy of Postwar Reconstruction.

Britain, Bretton Woods and the Crisis of the World Economy, 1945-51 Emergency Action and the Route to Floating Rate Convertibility Operation Robot: Restructuring the Domestic and the World Economy The Battle over Robot Robot Walks Again The Collective Approach to Free Trade and Currencies Anglo-American Negotiations and a New Bank Route to Convertibility From Suez to Operation Unicorn Conclusion: Bretton Woods and British Decline