A New World Order Old Forces, New Riddles, No Answers

Abstract

The editors of this volume have been generous and perhaps a little foolhardy in asking an outsider and dilettante in the subject of International Relations to write this postscript. Yet for its author the request was irresistible. It is a pleasure to be able to praise and honour Susan Strange. She (and Andrew Shonfield) helped me come to terms with the puzzling and important events of 1971 when the United States gave notice to the post-war international (economic) order by suspending the convertibility of the dollar into gold, thereby effectively abdicating their claim to hegemony. Susan Strange impressed me by the unflustered firmness with which she broke into the bastion of an inter-state understanding of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She not only coined a term but also took the veil off a myth with her book Casino Capitalism. Throughout, her incorruptible independence has been an inspiration to others.