"States aggressively defend their right to make national monetary policy choices as a fundamental sovereign prerogative. This book examines how the International Monetary Fund engages in the politics of ideas to shape monetary system change in conditions of extreme economic uncertainty. Drawing on case studies from post-Soviet Central Asia, Andre Broome explains that how governments interpret their policy options mediates the IMF's influence over policy reform in periods of financial crisis. The book also shows how IMF staff play a larger role in determining access to loans than is often recognized by scholars who focus on major power influence on the IMF. By acting as a reputational intermediary, the IMF attempts to boost its impact on national policy reform in exchange for improving the sovereign creditworthiness of borrower states, but its influence over the implementation of formal policy changes is often frustrated by everyday politics." --Back Cover.