The Geopolitical Stakes of America’s Trade Policy | Foreign Policy
This century’s defining battle could be won or lost without a shot fired. As President Barack Obama’s National Security Strategy
makes clear, the rules-based system we have led since World War II is
competing against alternative, more mercantilist models. Unlike past
challenges to American leadership, this competition is primarily
economic in nature, and victory hinges more on opening markets and
raising standards than on building bombs and raising armies.
To be sure, the traditional link between economics and strategy
hasn’t been upended as much as extended. Beginning with the first
estimates of national income, which were developed in 17th century
Europe to compare the ability of states to raise and support militaries,
economic power has been viewed primarily as an enabler for military
power. This basic belief was widely adopted and held sway among most
strategists through the Cold War.
