Group identification contributes to intimate international cooperation: lack of group identification makes such cooperation less likely. When leaders perceive their states to be part of a group of states, they are more likely to favor cooperation within this group. I develop hypotheses from this insight and explain British policy toward European monetary integration from 1978 to 1992. More specifically, I explain why the United Kingdom did not support monetary cooperation in 1978, supported it in 1990 when the pound entered the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the European Monetary System, supported it again when British Prime Minister John Major signed the Maastricht Treaty in 1991, and then withdrew that support in 1992 during the Black Wednesday crisis. I apply my hypotheses to explain British economic policy, but the hypotheses explain other instances of intimate international cooperation and contribute to our knowledge of international politics.
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