Power paradox: how the extension of US infrastructural power abroad diminishes state capacity at home

Abstract

The concept of infrastructural power is arguably one of the most useful in the social sciences. It has helped both to illuminate the extraordinary capacity, reach, and impact of the modern state vis-à-vis its pre-industrial predecessor, and to cast light on why some modern states appear more able than others to execute their decisions and pursue their ambitions. Although sometimes mischaracterized as a ‘weak’ state, the capacity of the state centered on Washington to penetrate social space and implement its decisions, both at home and abroad, has long been recognized. But under what conditions might its infrastructural power diminish? Arguably, US economic power is now stronger than ever, ostensibly bolstered by being home to the world’s most globalized and most profitable companies. However, while globalized production has strengthened US corporations – especially those rich in intellectual property – its contradictory consequences for the state’s infrastructural power deserve close examination. This paper takes a first step in that direction by appraising the extent to which the state’s domestic capacities have been weakened by Washington’s internationalization of intellectual property rights. It also offers a reconceptualization of US power.