How the U$ dollar locks in global exploitation - webinar

​The role of the US dollar in locking countries in the Global South into debt dependency, constraining climate action, driving extraction, and limiting democracy across the world is still understood by far too few in the Global North. But shifts in the global currency order are opening up opportunities for change. What are these, and how can we make the most of them to further a more just and equal future?

Catch up on this recording of a webinar with our partners at Future Narratives Lab, with a group of experts on how we can push back against narratives that reinforce the dominance of the US Dollar, and to launch new resources for civil society and spokespeople to build solidarity and collective power with Global South actors already showing the way forward.

As laid out in our initial report Beyond Dollar Dominance in 2024, our international money and banking system underpins multiple crises that we’re currently facing. From global inequality and climate breakdown, to unsustainable debt levels and unfair trade relations, the global currency hierarchy - with the US dollar sitting at the top - is indicative of this system, and this hierarchy isn’t accidental. It tracks the lines drawn by colonialism and empire, trapping the same Global South countries at the bottom, that were colonialised and extracted from for centuries. Which is why we see this work as simultaneously about racial and economic justice - it is about who bears the risk and who holds the power, alongside being about how money moves around the world. Reshaping the global currency hierarchy presents an opportunity to fundamentally shift the global balance of power by freeing Global South countries up to redirect spending and invest more in public goods such as health, education, and climate action.

However, to date, the UK government and wider UK NGO, policymaking and new economy sector, have failed to recognise the important role our international monetary, financial, and currency systems have - this project was initiated to try and change that. 

The new resources we created together from this project include the messaging guide; which is a practical toolkit for Global North NGOs to communicate about the issue of dollar dominance, to strengthen awareness-building of the issue in the UK, and support long-standing Global South efforts to break away from the global currency hierarchy. Alongside ​Building Power Against Dollar Dominance; a strategic document synthesising findings from a workshop where we brought together 14 organisations to collectively analyse why Global North civil society struggles to connect with this issue and areas to take action. 

This work could not be more timely, as the tide is turning; with Reuters reporting that for the first time, central banks are expecting to cut their US dollar holdings rather than increase them, in a survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. And wins are possible: last year, our colleague Bruno attended the G20’s civil society precursor event, the T20, and successfully got our proposal for a multi-currency international financial architecture endorsed by the taskforce and included in the final communique to G20 leaders. This was a big win but we cannot be complacent. 

We’ll be doing all we can to sustain this focus when the G20 comes to the UK next year and we hope that others, including you, will join us in doing the same. 

Sign-up to our mailing list for regular updates, or make a donation to support our work to redesign our economic system for social justice and a liveable planet.