Institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank exert enormous influence over the domestic policies of many states. While they were created in the aftermath of World War II, if we want to understand their deeper origins and the ideas and dynamics that shaped their controversial powers, we must turn back to the explosive political struggles that attended the birth of global economic governance in the early twentieth century.

The Meddlers tells the story of the first international institutions to preside over the world economy, including the League of Nations and Bank for International Settlements, created after World War I. These institutions endowed European and American bankers, colonial authorities, and civil servants with extraordinary powers: to enforce austerity, coordinate the policies of independent central banks, oversee development programs, and regulate commodity prices. Martin shows how the challenges that institutions like the IMF pose to democracy today first emerged during a period of imperial competition and war at the beginning of the twentieth century.