Abstract
AbstractThe 21st century has witnessed a significant transformation of the economies of many developing countries. Consequently, many studies have argued that the centre of gravity of the global economy is shifting from the Western core to the semi-peripheral East. Vassilis Fouskas and Bülent Gökay’s global fault-lines model detailed in their book titled The Fall of the US Empire: Global Fault-Lines and the Shifting Imperial Order is an attempt to use some ideas of the theory of plate tectonics to explain the historical-geographic tectonic shifts in the global political economy. This paper shows the major arguments of the global fault-lines model and shows the link between the plate tectonics theory and the global fault-lines model. Finally, it highlights the implications of the tectonic shifts in the global political economy and by so doing argues for the expansion of BRICS and strengthening of the south-south cooperation paradigm.
Highlights
There has been a considerable change in the global economy starting from the mid-twentieth century which can be seen in the share of developing economies in world output
This paper has shown the important arguments of the global fault-lines model of Vassilis Fouskas and Bülent Gökay and highlights the link between the plate tectonics theory and the global fault-lines model
It discussed the implications of the tectonic shifts in the global political economy and by so doing argues for the expansion of BRICS and strengthening of the south-south cooperation paradigm
Summary
There has been a considerable change in the global economy starting from the mid-twentieth century which can be seen in the share of developing economies in world output. It is argued that there is convincing evidence that even without a full downfall of US global power there is going to be a drastic drift of power and wealth to these three countries (Shambaugh, 2005; Gökay, 2009a) They have gathered momentum to challenge the most advanced economies, and China has overtaken all advanced economies except the United States (US) (see Fig 1). In their book, Fouskas and Gökay (2012) demonstrate that the neo-liberal, globalisation and financialisation schemes of the global capitalist system catalysed the rise of emerging economies and the consistent growth of the emerging economies which is being translated into political power that is gradually shifting the global hegemony from its Anglo-American cum Western hub to Eastern geopolitical axis. I detail the main arguments of global fault-lines model and highlight the link between the model and the plate tectonics theory
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