This volume has as its focus the role of the Marshall Plan as both a force in the transformation of European Economic practices and a stimulus to political integration in Europe. This organizing theme is framed in terms of two other issues that are central to contemporary debates in international political economy and geopolitical studies: the origins and development of the Cold War, and the growing globalisation of the world economy. In relating the Marshall Plan to these issues, this book goes beyond the typical diplomatic history approach to place the Plan in the context of both the political economy of late twentieth century Europe, and the impact of American models of business and government that came with the Plan. The book brings together two groups of authors whose work has rarely been brought within one framework: those who focus on the short and long-term economic impacts of the Plan and those who focus on its long-term geopolitical consequences. In this respect the book is truly distinctive from previous volumes. Another distinction is that the authors come from a range of disciplinary and national backgrounds, which gives breadth and range to the volume.
The Marshall Plan Today is a challenge and a corrective to previous works, and engages with contemporary debates over the feasibility of using the Marshall Plan as a model in other parts of the world and in relation to global issues, such as global warming. Finally this book represents the benefits of reframing well-known yet still significant issues, such as the impacts of the Marshall Plan, in a geopolitical framework; and shows how international relations can be rethought in productive ways by framing them geopolitically. Contributors include: Gerard Bossuat; Stuart Corbridge; J Bradford De Long; Wilfried Loth; Jacqueline McGlade; Alan Milward; Dafne C Reymen; Thomas Schelling; Paul Bernard Spahn; Laszlo Valki; Raymond Vernon.