ThinkTankWeekly

How Geopolitics Overran Globalization

Foreign Affairs | 2026-03-31 | economy

Visit original source

ThinkTankWeekly provides a curated entry and summary only. Full text and PDF remain on the publisher's website.

English Summary

The article argues that the historical trajectory of globalization, which promised universal economic prosperity through open flows of goods and capital, is being fundamentally superseded by geopolitical competition. This shift is evidenced by states prioritizing national security and resilience over pure economic efficiency, leading to the fragmentation of global supply chains and technological decoupling. Consequently, policymakers must abandon the assumption of frictionless markets, adopting 'de-risking' and 'friend-shoring' strategies that integrate economic policy with strategic state planning. This mandates a pivot toward regionalized, politically aligned economic blocs rather than a unified global market.

中文摘要

本文論述全球化的歷史軌跡曾承諾透過商品和資本的自由流動實現普遍的經濟繁榮,但此趨勢正被地緣政治競爭根本性地取代。這種轉變體現在各國將國家安全和韌性置於純粹的經濟效率之上,導致全球供應鏈的碎片化和技術脫鉤。因此,政策制定者必須放棄「無摩擦市場」的假設,轉而採用「去風險化」(de-risking)和「友岸外包」(friend-shoring)等策略,將經濟政策與戰略國家規劃相結合。這要求我們轉向區域化、政治上一致的經濟集團,而非追求統一的全球市場。

Related Entries

  1. 1.
    2026-09-18 | health | 2026-W38 | Topics: AI, China, United States

    The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the DRC serves as a critical warning that the global health security system is fundamentally unprepared for future biological threats. The difficulty in containing this outbreak is compounded by the rising risk of emerging pathogens and the growing potential for AI misuse in bioweapon development. Policy must therefore shift from reactive, crisis-driven funding to sustained, proactive investment in resilient public health infrastructure, particularly in conflict zones. Addressing this requires strengthening global surveillance, ensuring consistent international cooperation, and mitigating the intersection of conflict, climate change, and disease spread.

    Read at Foreign Affairs

  2. 2.
    2026-09-18 | defense | 2026-W38 | Topics: Europe, Middle East, NATO, Nuclear, Russia, Ukraine, United States

    The article argues that modern conflicts are increasingly defined by attrition, driven by three strategic gaps: the difference between nominal military power and usable capacity; the difficulty of achieving breakthroughs in a technologically advanced battlefield; and the detachment of military means from clear political objectives. Evidence from Ukraine and the Middle East demonstrates that sustained logistics, rapid technological adaptation, and proxy networks are now more decisive than sheer military size. For policymakers, this implies a strategic shift away from seeking short, decisive victories toward preparing for prolonged, high-cost engagements, requiring a focus on sustainable supply chains and defining concrete, attainable political end-states.

    Read at Foreign Affairs

  3. 3.
    2026-09-17 | economy | 2026-W38 | Topics: Middle East, Russia, Trade, United States

    Cuba is on a trajectory toward an accelerating state and economic collapse, risking a point of no return. The state is deteriorating into "authoritarian anarchy," retaining its capacity for political repression but losing the ability to provide basic public services like health and safety. Economically, while the private sector is growing, this expansion is highly unequal, fueling cronyism and widening class gaps between the elite and the poor. If the current trend continues, the country risks calcifying these defects into a dysfunctional baseline, severely diminishing the chances of a stable, democratic transition.

    Read at Foreign Affairs

  4. 4.
    2026-09-17 | china_indopacific | 2026-W38 | Topics: China, Europe, Russia, Trade

    The article argues that China's ongoing purges are not signs of weakness, but rather a sophisticated, historically rooted process of 'rectification' that strengthens the CCP's grip on power. This mechanism requires cadres to submit mandatory self-criticisms and build permanent, detailed personnel files (dossiers). This system of record-keeping is the CCP's primary source of resilience, creating profound, internalized discipline that controls internal dissent. Policymakers must recognize that the regime's durability stems from this deep internal control mechanism, making succession—rather than internal purges—the ultimate strategic vulnerability.

    Read at Foreign Affairs

  5. 5.

    The analysis argues that contemporary warfare is marked by a return to great power competition, often fueled by strategic hubris and historical overconfidence. A key failure across modern conflicts is the 'short-war fallacy'—the assumption that overwhelming military force guarantees a quick, decisive victory. This mindset blinds policymakers to the need for sustained resource mobilization and complex political outcomes. Consequently, effective strategy requires linking military objectives with clear, comprehensive political goals, rather than pursuing rapid, decisive regime changes or military victories in isolation.

    Read at Foreign Affairs