New roles in central bank cooperation: towards a global liquidity backstop

central bank swap lines; European Central Bank; Federal Reserve; global financial crisis; role theory; Geography, Planning and Development; Development; Political Science and International Relations

Abstract :

[en] This article examines how the world’s foremost reserve currency-issuing central banks have since 2000 assumed the role of an international liquidity backstop. Following the 9/11 terror attacks, the 2007–2010 Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) and the European Central Bank (ECB) have set up and expanded facilities through which they can grant emergency loans to other central banks. Applying a symbolic interactionist role-theoretical framework, the article argues that the ECB and the Fed have taken these roles not just because of financial pressures but also evolving role conceptions and expectations within the international central banking community. By studying the role of liquidity backstop as a social role, this article highlights central banks’ international agency and the social–as opposed to material–considerations that underpin their cooperation.

Disciplines :

Sociology & social sciences

Author, co-author :

SPIELBERGER, Lukas ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) > Department of Social Sciences (DSOC) > Political Science ; Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

External co-authors :

Language :

English

Title :

New roles in central bank cooperation: towards a global liquidity backstop

Publication date :

17 May 2025

Journal title :

New Political Economy

ISSN :

1356-3467

eISSN :

1469-9923

Publisher :

Routledge

Special issue title :

The new political economy of central banks: reluctant Atlases?

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

682 - 694

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13563467.2025.2504400

Funding text :

This article is part of a project that has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 101045227). The author is grateful to Will Bateman, Sebastian Diessner, Madeleine Hosli, David Howarth, Stephan Klose, Max Nagel, Moritz Rehm, Luis Simon, Ferdi de Ville, the anonymous reviewers and the editors of this Special Issue for their helpful comments and suggestions. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the 2024 NKWP Politicologenetmaal, the 2024 ECPR Standing Group on the EU Annual Conference, the 2024 CES Conference of Europeanists, and the 2024 Workshop on Central Banking at the University of Luxembourg.

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since 23 December 2025

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