The New Global Geoeconomy
Outlines of a Critical Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32387/prokla.v56i223.2244Keywords:
Critical Political Economy, Geoeconomics, Geopolitics, Global CompetitionAbstract
In an attempt to analyse the intensifying global economic conflicts, the concept of geoeconomics has gained traction in recent years. Based on a genesis of the concept, we identify three building blocks of a critical geoeconomic perspective. These address continuities and breaks of geoeconomic strategies with the organizational forms of market-liberal capitalism; the material anchoring of unequal global economic relations as a result of geoeconomic competition; and the underlying capital interests and exploitative relationships. Finally, we develop starting points for a critique of geoeconomics, which remain largely marginalized in the current discourse.Downloads
References
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