ANDREAS KRUCK is Teaching and Research Associate in International Relations and Global Governance at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany. His research interests include global governance, private actors in world politics and international political economy.

'Kruck's effort contributes to a better understanding of the changing role of the state and the diffusion of political authority. Those interested in credit rating agencies or regulatory responsibility more broadly will certainly benefit from his research [...] an important contribution to the study of global economy.' David James Gill, International Affairs, March 2012 'The text's primary benefit is that it is accessibly written and offers a straightforward introduction to the specialized topic of credit rating agencies and the collaboration of public and private actors in governance more generally. Further, Kruck provides the valuable reminder that there is no singular Capitalism existing in the world today but, rather, many nuanced expressions of this economic and political system that act and react differently to market forces. He also exposes readers to a healthy crop of new terms disintermediation, transsovereignty, homo oeconomicus that excite creative possibilities about the study of economic systems at the very level of language.' Camille van der Marel, Inquire: Journal of Comparative Literature, January 2012

• Introduction: Private Ratings and Public Purposes The Regulatory Use of Credit Ratings: Overview and Conceptualization The Theoretical Model: An Embedded Resource Dependence View on Delegation Explaining Trend and Variation in the Regulatory Use of Credit Ratings Making Sense of the Role of External Ratings in Basel II Conclusion and Outlook: After the Crisis Notes References