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Charles P. Kindleberger, an MIT professor, was the intellectual architect of European reconstruction. Though he wrote 30 books, Kindleberger is largely remembered for his hegemonic stability theory. The theory argues that stability in the international monetary system can only be ensured through a single hegemonic power that maintains order through the provision of global public goods— open markets for trade, stable money or freedom of the seas. 

Kindleberger based his theory on the interwar period. As Britain’s power waned, the US reluctance to take on the role of a hegemonic power led to the political and economic turmoil of the 1930s. By 1944, however, the stage was set for Pax Americana as the US finally committed to providing global public goods at Bretton Woods through fostering a global consensus on a new economic order. 

Later scholars built on Kindleberger’s ideas. Joseph S. Nye, who passed away last month, formalized the “Kindleberger Trap,” signifying a period of intense political and economic turbulence as hegemonic control moves from one established power to another.

It appears that the recent South Asian conflict has forced a major policy rethink in........

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