Islands in the stream: why mutual cooperation is necessary in the Irish sovereign crisis

<p>Countries like companies are going bust these days. The global system is so intertwined that systemic shocks affect countries like ninepins. Some time ago it was specific risks and debt mismanagement which afflicted countries but currently it is systemic risk which has taken precedent. Like the oil shock of the seventies, it is now the banks that have become the new grenade which is exploding in the front rooms of European countries like Ireland.</p>