Financial Diplomacy in American Foreign Policy and the Soviet Debt Crisis (1922-1938): Washington’s Pursuit of Global Economic Hegemony

Abstract

This study is structured upon an "Archival Document Analysis" that combines historical process analysis with methods of socio-political critique. The primary dataset of the research is based on declassified original documents spanning the years 1922-1938, consisting of correspondence between the U.S. Department of State and diplomatic missions in Riga, Moscow, and London. Rather than an event-based chronology, this research focuses on the economic-political meanings embedded within the documents. Each document is interpreted alongside the diplomatic, economic, and ideological structures of the historical context in which it was produced. The quantitative analysis employed in the research is based on a period-specific comparison of Ruble, Gold Reserve, and Pound (Sterling) values found in the documents. Particularly, while examining the correspondence of gold expenditures between 1919 and 1924 within the Soviet State Bank (Gosbank) reserves, items of "unrecorded/invisible exports" in the documents were passed through a qualitative filter. In this process, the gap between the Soviet Five-Year Plan targets and the actual cash balances in American banks has been materialized through data provided by primary sources.

Keywords

• American Financial Diplomacy
• Soviet Debt Crisis
• Gold Reserves
• Archival Document Analysis
• International Financial Order

Amerikan Dış Politikasında Finansal Diplomasi ve Sovyet Borç Krizi (1922–1938): Washington’ın Küresel Ekonomik Hegemonya Arayışı

Abstract

Bu çalışma, tarihsel süreç analizini sosyo-politik eleştiri yöntemleriyle birleştiren bir “Arşiv Belgesi Analizi” çerçevesinde yapılandırılmıştır. Araştırmanın birincil veri seti, 1922–1938 yılları arasını kapsayan, gizliliği kaldırılmış orijinal belgelerden oluşmakta olup; Amerika Birleşik Devletleri Dışişleri Bakanlığı ile Riga, Moskova ve Londra’daki diplomatik misyonlar arasındaki yazışmaları içermektedir. Olay merkezli bir kronoloji izlemek yerine, çalışma belgelerin içeriğinde yer alan iktisadi ve politik anlam katmanlarına odaklanmaktadır. Her bir belge, üretildiği dönemin diplomatik, ekonomik ve ideolojik yapılarıyla birlikte yorumlanmıştır. Araştırmada kullanılan nicel analiz, belgelerde yer alan Ruble, altın rezervleri ve Sterlin (Pound) değerlerinin döneme özgü karşılaştırmasına dayanmaktadır. Özellikle 1919–1924 yılları arasında Sovyet Devlet Bankası (Gosbank) rezervleri kapsamında yapılan altın harcamalarına ilişkin yazışmalar incelenirken, belgelerde geçen “kayıt dışı/görünmez ihracat” kalemleri nitel bir süzgeçten geçirilmiştir. Bu süreçte, Sovyet Beş Yıllık Plan hedefleri ile Amerikan bankalarındaki fiilî nakit bakiyeleri arasındaki fark, birincil kaynaklardan elde edilen veriler aracılığıyla somutlaştırılmıştır.

Keywords

• Amerikan Finansal Diplomasisi
• Sovyet Borç Krizi
• Altın Rezervleri
• Arşiv Belge Analizi
• Uluslararası Finansal Düzen

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