Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 10/2009

Reinforcing Treasury's Strategic Roles in International Affairs and National Security

Jeremiah S. Pam

September 2009

United States Institute of Peace

Abstract

Amid the global financial crisis, USIP examines how the U.S. Treasury Department can play a smarter role in international affairs and national security. This working paper outlines the Treasury Department's current functions on both the national and international stage, and how it could utilize its existing resources to more effectively strengthen public finance institutions in developing countries, address financial upheavals as well as combat illicit finance. Author Jeremy Pam, a visiting research scholar at the Sustainable Economies Center of Innovation at USIP, makes specific recommendations on how to better leverage the Treasury Department to fulfill its potential to play a strategic role in international affairs that strengthens finance institutions in developing countries and, in doing so, serves U.S. national security interests.