RESUMO No final dos anos 1960, as discussões internacionais sobre uma possível reforma do sistema monetário internacional originou os Direitos Especiais de Saque (SDR). Embora tenham sido criados inicialmente para representar um ativo adicional para complementar as reservas existentes de dólares e ouro, após a crise do sistema de Bretton Woods o SDR foi considerado um possível substituto do dólar. Baseando-se numa literatura consolidada, o objetivo deste artigo é demonstrar que as origens do SDR não eram exclusivas das negociações financeiras técnicas, mas da convergência de interesses políticos mais elevados contra os Estados Unidos e o domínio do dólar.

ABSTRACT In the late-1960’s, international discussions over a possible reform of the international monetary system originated the Special Drawing Right (SDR). While they had been created initially to represent an additional asset to complement the existing reserves of U.S. dollars and gold, after the crisis of the Bretton Woods system the SDR was considered a possible substitute of the U.S. dollar. Relying on a consolidated literature, this article aims at demonstrating that the origins of the SDR were not the exclusive result of technical financial negotiations, but of the convergence of higher political interests against the United States and the dollar dominance.

This study looks to analyse to what extent the neorealism versus neoliberalism debate contributes to understanding the complexity of the European Union's institutionalization, focusing on the impacts of the 2008 financial crisis and the asymmetries between Germany and Greece. How far can Greece be considered guilty for its situation and how far is Germany involved both in the cause and in the resolution of this crisis? To answer these questions, a brief analysis of the European Union's formation and of both countries' macroeconomic indicators and competitiveness is presented. The article also discusses the increasing institutionalization of the International System and the complex interdependence created within the European Union. It argues that increased European cooperation has deep-lying neorealist motivations and that the world financial regime's pandemic dynamics makes evident the asymmetrical interdependence between Germany and Greece. Economic disparities between the two nations are determinant factors in their respective behaviours prior to the 2008 crisis.

O artigo analisa a contribuição marxista para o estudo das relações internacionais enfatizando a dimensão histórica nas formações sociais e a economia política como variável fundamental. Assim, o marxismo oferece instrumentos para uma análise abrangente das relações internacionais, desconstruindo o conceito de Estado tal qual entendido pelas teorias dominantes da área.

The article examines the marxist contribution to the study of international relations stressing the historical dimension in the social groups and political economy as a fundamental variable. Thus, marxism provides resources to a comprehensive analysis of international relations, deconstructing the concept of state as is understood by the dominant theories in the area.