Geoeconomics, Varieties of Capitalism, and Great Power Competition

Abstract

Abstract The current and future successes and failures of this era’s great powers—the United States, the People’s Republic of China, and Russia—can be traced back to the domestic political economy of each contender. The three great powers all rely on capitalist economic arrangements operating within a global market economy. But capitalism comes in a variety of forms ranging from the Anglo-American neoliberal model to state or even “party” capitalism as practiced in Russia and China. Each great power thus relies on different domestic political and economic institutions as well as legitimating ideologies to generate usable power within the global system. To illustrate the impact of distinct varieties of capitalism on great power competition, this chapter analyzes how each great power meets the most salient contemporary strategic challenge: military modernization.