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The New Economic Security State
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The New Economic Security State

How De-risking Will Remake Geopolitics

Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman
Foreign Affairs, 2023
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Recommendation

National security involves more than just protection from war and terrorism. Economic clout plays a significant role in what has become a highly interconnected and interdependent world. The United States must therefore rethink its national security strategy, write professors Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman in this astute essay. America’s reliance on Cold War-era approaches raises risks, as adversaries can weaponize national resources and industry. Students of foreign policy will find value in this exposition of a new geostrategic reality.

Summary

The transition from the Cold War to international economic integration spawned a new set of challenges.

Economics and national security have become intertwined. No longer limited to issues of combat and terrorism, security now encompasses inflation, climate change and energy resources. As markets increasingly interlink, governments can no longer separate trade from security. Economics is the new geopolitical weapon.

China’s and America’s economies are mutually dependent. There is no effective way to unravel this interdependency without a cost to US well-being. Nations must manage the competing challenges of maintaining a stable global economy with mitigating threats to national security.

The United States’ recent attempts to bolster its economic security rest on outdated premises.

America still struggles with the mindset...

About the Authors


Henry Farrell is a professor of international affairs at Johns Hopkins University. Abraham Newman is a professor of government at Georgetown University. 
 

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