ABSTRACT
Foreign economic behaviour in developing and emerging markets continues to be a contentious issue. Over the past decade, one of the central claims of neoliberal critics has been that American and other foreign actors have exploited periods of economic turbulence in the developing world. In economic crisis after economic crisis – from Mexico to Thailand to Turkey and beyond – American financial and economic power has been a central theme. This important and recurring international economic theme is the subject of closer scrutiny in this book. When the economies of developing countries falter, US actors often intervene, despite the reservations of some political elites.1 American interventions include formal involvement in providing advice and funding in financial rescue packages, as well as the equally important market activities of US companies.