Site Book - The New Economic Nationalism: Global Strategy Reborn. Discover how nations are reshaping economies with tariffs, subsidies, and strategy. Learn what this means for global power, growth, and your future.
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The New Economic Nationalism: A Strategic Reordering of Global Economic Policy
Empires, city-states, and modern nations have always wrestled with how to control wealth, industry, and power.
From ancient mercantilism to imperial conquests, economic strategy has long been an extension of political power.
In The New Economic Nationalism, authors Jérémie Cohen-Setton, Madi Sarsenbayev, and Monica de Bolle illuminate the current transformation of the global economic order—where industrial policy, state-driven investment, and trade protectionism are replacing free-market orthodoxy.
As the liberal economic consensus wanes, a new era emerges—marked by strategic competition, economic resilience, and sovereign control over supply chains.
A Departure From the Post-War Economic Order
The liberal economic model forged after World War II and the Great Depression promoted international cooperation, trade liberalization, and open capital markets.
Institutions like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cemented the dominance of free-market capitalism.
But this consensus fractured in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, rising populism, and geopolitical fragmentation.
The New Economic Nationalism articulates how major economies—from the United States and China to India and Brazil—are turning inward.
Governments are now deploying subsidies, tariffs, export controls, and strategic investments to reassert national control over economic outcomes.
The focus has shifted from global efficiency to domestic security, resilient supply chains, and industrial autonomy.
The Rise of Industrial Policy in the West
One of the central themes of the book is the resurgence of industrial policy—once considered a relic of interventionist economics.
In the United States, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) exemplify a strategic pivot toward reshoring critical industries, especially in semiconductors, renewable energy, and advanced manufacturing.
Governments are no longer mere referees of market forces; they are becoming active players, investors, and risk-bearers.
By channeling public resources into innovation and infrastructure, Western nations hope to regain technological primacy and reduce strategic dependencies on rival powers.
Asia’s Strategic Economic Statecraft
Asian economies have long embraced state-guided capitalism. China’s Made in China 2025 and dual circulation strategy reflect a deep commitment to self-reliance, domestic innovation, and state-capital hybrid models.
South Korea and Japan have also utilized targeted industrial policy for decades to climb up the value chain.
What distinguishes the current wave of economic nationalism is its global scale and cross-ideological appeal.
Both democracies and authoritarian regimes are leveraging national power to influence economic outcomes—sometimes through outright protectionism, other times through strategic incentives for favored sectors.
Mixed Outcomes in the Developing World
While industrial policy has yielded impressive results in some nations, the experience in much of the developing world has been less encouraging.
The book documents how state-led economic nationalism has frequently been accompanied by corruption, inefficient allocation of capital, inflation, and growing debt burdens.
Countries such as Argentina, Venezuela, and Nigeria illustrate how state control over trade and investment can entrench rent-seeking elites and stifle private sector innovation.
Misguided nationalization efforts and populist fiscal policies have often led to economic stagnation rather than renewal.
Tariffs and Trade Wars: New Tools of Economic Power
Tariffs, quotas, and non-tariff barriers are no longer just defensive tools—they are offensive weapons in the struggle for economic sovereignty.
The U.S.-China trade war redefined global trade patterns, prompting multinational corporations to diversify their supply chains, often relocating production to Vietnam, Mexico, or India.
The authors argue that tariffs are being used not merely to protect domestic industries but to coerce geopolitical outcomes, enforce technological standards, and shape global production networks.
The weaponization of interdependence—where economic ties are used to exert strategic pressure—has become a defining characteristic of this new era.
Economic Nationalism and National Security
National security is now intertwined with economic policy. Countries are racing to secure critical inputs like rare earth minerals, semiconductors, and energy technologies.
Export controls, especially on advanced chips and AI components, are being used to restrict the technological rise of rivals.
This securitization of trade and investment has reshaped global governance. Governments are blocking foreign acquisitions of strategic firms, vetting inbound investment, and creating sovereign wealth funds to safeguard long-term interests.
Economic tools are no longer merely instruments of prosperity—they are now instruments of power.
Fiscal Costs and Long-Term Risks
While some economic nationalist policies have delivered short-term gains, they come at a cost. Subsidies, tax incentives, and strategic bailouts impose significant fiscal burdens.
If poorly managed, they risk crowding out private investment, fostering dependency, and inflating asset bubbles.
The authors caution that a careful balance must be struck between state intervention and market discipline.
Without transparency, institutional checks, and long-term strategic planning, economic nationalism can slide into inefficiency, overregulation, and macroeconomic instability.
Lessons from History: What Works and What Fails
By examining historical case studies, the book provides a nuanced analysis of when economic nationalism succeeds.
The Asian Tigers—notably South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore—demonstrated that strategically sequenced policies, supported by strong institutions and export discipline, can foster industrial transformation.
Conversely, countries that pursued indiscriminate protectionism without accountability mechanisms—such as import substitution industrialization (ISI) in Latin America—experienced long-term stagnation.
Effective economic nationalism demands clarity of purpose, policy coherence, and institutional integrity.
A Roadmap to an Uncertain Future
The New Economic Nationalism doesn’t merely diagnose a shift—it provides a framework for evaluating its outcomes.
The future will not belong to those who isolate themselves but to those who can strategically navigate interdependence, balancing sovereignty with openness.
As countries recalibrate their economic priorities, the authors stress the need for adaptive governance, strategic foresight, and multilateral cooperation where feasible.
Economic resilience, innovation capacity, and state capability will be the true differentiators in the decades to come.
Conclusion: A New Economic Era Has Begun
The liberal economic order is no longer the uncontested model of prosperity. Instead, we are witnessing a reimagining of capitalism, where nations actively shape their economic destinies through strategic intervention.
The New Economic Nationalism offers a deeply researched, evidence-driven account of this transformation—capturing the tensions, possibilities, and pitfalls of the world's new economic playbook.
As global competition intensifies, the question is no longer whether states should intervene—but how, when, and to what end.
This book equips policymakers, scholars, and citizens with the insights needed to navigate the complex terrain of twenty-first-century economics—where power, policy, and prosperity are being redefined in real time.{getProduct} $button={Book Detail} $price={Get The Book Here} $icon={download}