Geopolitical Economy

Geopolitical Economy radically reinterprets the historical evolution of the world order, as a multi-polar world emerges from the dust of the financial and economic crisis. Radhika Desai offers a radical critique of the theories of US hegemony, globalisation and empire which dominate academic international political economy and international relations, revealing their ideological origins in successive failed US attempts at world dominance through the dollar. Desai revitalizes revolutionary intellectual traditions which combine class and national perspectives on 'the relations of producing nations'. At a time of global upheavals and profound shifts in the distribution of world power, Geopolitical Economy forges a vivid and compelling account of the historical processes which are shaping the contemporary international order. You are not likely to find a better contemporary history of the world's economy than this one. It is hard to put down, but the greater joy is that it undoes myth after myth about neoliberalism's inevitability and the neoclassical abstractions that economic history has little to do with the state any longer. The state and class battles will continue, and had better, argues Professor Desai. -- Jeff Madrick, Editor, Challenge, Desai's book shatters the stale notions that characterise traditional international political economy. Just as the world economy is crumbling before us, she has provided scholars with a fresh, compelling and forceful account of the US's failed efforts to dominate the world order order. -- Professor Ilene Grabel, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, USA Desai has given us an essential work on global political economy, deftly weaving together a critical history of the US dollar, a devastating critique of global hegemony theory, and a rethinking of Marxian and Keynesian ideas about global economic crisis. She argues that US global currency and economic policy over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries, despite its different phases, can be understood as a series of ultimately unsuccessful efforts to establish an American imperial order. Anyone seeking to understand the future of the global economy will draw wisdom, if not comfort, from this scintillating text. -- Gary Dymski, Leeds University Business School and University of California, Riverside This impressive book powerfully questions the conventional wisdoms of both the right and the left about U.S. hegemony, globalization, and the "new American empire." Professor Desai takes us back to Marx and Engels and forward to Keynes, Polanyi and Brenner to give us a coherent narrative of capitalism's history and its future prospects. The nation-state, it turns out, is not withering away. This is radical scholarship at its best. -- Mel Watkins, Professor Emeritus of Economics and Political Science, University of Toronto This is a refreshing book with a punch. Desai not only charts the end of an era in global political economy, she offers us a stimulating framework for understanding the coming multipolar period, one full of promise if only we recognize its key features. Catholic in scope, Geopolitical Economy draws on a rich diversity of scholarly traditions to fashion a new outlook on political economy, one which combines the global thrust of capitalist dynamics with what she calls the fundamental materiality of the nation-state. It promises to have a significant impact on scholarship, and I recommend it to anyone interested in comprehending the changing political, economic and social contours of our world. -- Randall Germain Professor of Political Science, Carleton University, Canada A bold and imaginative book. Desai argues her case with an analysis of history that has both sweep and rigour. -- Prabhat Patnaik, Professor Emeritus, Department of Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, former Chairman of the Kerala State Planning Commission, Member of the UN taskforce on the reform of the world financial system. A penetrating account of the complex interrelations between US hegemony and the transnational sweep of capital. Firmly planted in the long tradition of historical materialist analysis of imperialism, Desai breaks new ground in taking forward some of the most incisive theorisations from this lineage, critically dissecting theories that have for too long assumed that interstate rivalries were a thing of the past. -- Kees van der Pijl, Professor Emeritus, Department of International Relations, University of Sussex Radhika Desai's book, Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire' challenges several widely accepted ideas. The first of that is that hegemony of a nation provides stability to the world economy. The second is that the USA really enjoyed hegemony in any real sense during the second half of the twentieth century. The third is that the kind of globalization favoured by the financial industry and transnational corporations and their client states was a purely economic affair and witnessed the demise of the nation state. In support of her argument she undertakes a detailed biography of the US dollar as a hegemonic currency, showing how insecure that supposed hegemony was. In all this she deploys the Marxist notion of uneven and combined development as a strategic tool. Even if one disagrees with some of the details of the argument, anybody who is interested in understanding today's multipolar, contentious capitalism will have to read this book. I have every confidence that every student of the global economy and polity will greatly benefit by studying this outstanding monograph. -- Amiya Kumar Bagchi, Founder-Director of the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata and former Reserve Bank Professor at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta Geopolitical Economy: After US Hegemony, Globalization and Empire is a timely work. Radhika Desai offers a critical and vivid analysis of what she aptly calls the geopolitical economy of capitalism which will be attractive as a textbook for international political economy courses at both undergraduate and graduate levels and a thrilling read for readers at large. -- Makoto Itoh, Professor emeritus of The University of Tokyo. Radhika Desai provides a clear-eyed and incisive look at some of the central concerns in the world today. Her main proposition is that a long period of actual or attempted dominance by one power is now effectively over, at least for a time - and this has significant implications for global capitalism's trajectory of "uneven and combined development". This book will persuade and engage you, it will make you think and want to discuss many of these issues further. So it must be read by anyone seeking to make sense of the rapidly changing global environment. -- Jayati Ghosh, Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Executive Secretary of the International Development Economics Associates (IDEAS).Contents Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations 1. Introduction: Why Geopolitical Economy? 2. The Materiality of Nations 3. The US Imperial Career 4. Ambition and Realities 5. The Retrospection of Hegemony Stability Theory 6. Renewal? 7. Globalization? 8. Empire? 9. Conclusion: The Multipolar Moment References Index