The discourse on the U.S. dollar's global dominance has shifted from “Mercury” (market-driven) to “Mars” (politically/militarily-driven) explanations, according to a recent wave of books about the dollar. Experts draw parallels between America's current political strains and the historical decline of currencies like the Roman denarius and the Continental, suggesting the dollar's future may hinge on U.S. political stability rather than economic strength alone.

“The role of politics in shaping the global currency hierarchy is seen as secondary to…baseline economic fundamentals,” wrote Daniel McDowell, Maxwell Advisory Board Professor of International Affairs, for the Atlantic Council’s Geoeconomics Center. But that’s changing. “In the great global currency debate, market forces have never been more passé and political forces have never been so prominent.”

Read more in the Bloomberg article, “The US Is Relearning an Old Lesson About Dollar Dominance.”