ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the IFA as a system of disciplinary power, drawing upon the work of Michel Foucault (cf. Chapter 9). This analytical framework is well-suited for depicting the way in which the IFA was thought to contribute to the stability and resilience of the international fi nancial system, as well as for problematizing the underlying assumptions in subsequent chapters. In this chapter, the focus is on analysing the IFA as a system of disciplinary power. Although never explicitly articulated as such, there can be little doubt that the IFA, both in its intentions and in its design, was a system of disciplinary power, to be imposed on economies worldwide. Needless to say, a system of disciplinary power targeting economies will be different from systems of disciplinary power targeting individuals. Above and beyond such inevitable differences, there are strong parallels, however.
