ResearchPod Summary
Mallin and Sidaway argue that the contemporary surge in geoeconomic literature—often driven by policy institutions like the IMF or World Economic Forum—is frequently ahistorical, vague, and overstretched. In response to commentaries on their previous work, the authors advocate for a "critical geoeconomics" that treats the field not as a new strategic toolkit, but as a historical project that traces the evolving relationship between politics, economy, and space.
The authors reject the idea that geopolitics and geoeconomics are distinct schemas. Instead, they propose viewing them as a co-evolving dialectic. Drawing on historical examples from the interwar period—such as the trade strategies of Herbert Hoover and Andrew Mellon—the authors demonstrate that economic statecraft has always been deeply entangled with territorial logic. They argue that capitalism’s drive toward a global market constantly clashes with the political structure of competitive nation-states, creating a tension that defines the modern era.
By revisiting early twentieth-century thinkers like Arthur Dix, the authors illustrate how geoeconomic reasoning has historically been used to justify imperial expansion and resource exploitation. They contend that by ignoring these historical roots, modern analysts miss how current strategies—such as the "Chip War" or green energy transitions—are merely the latest iterations of long-standing power dynamics. The authors conclude that a critical approach is essential for rendering the current global order legible, moving beyond superficial policy debates to understand the underlying social and historical forces shaping sovereign rivalry and the world market.
Alex: Welcome to another episode of ResearchPod. Today, we're looking at a paper by Felix Mallin and James Sidaway that challenges how we understand the term "geoeconomics."
Sam: I see that term everywhere in the news, but it always feels like a buzzword. Is this paper trying to figure out what it actually means?
Alex: That's exactly the starting point. The authors argue that while "geoeconomics" is used constantly by institutions like the World Economic Forum, it's usually treated as a neutral, modern tool for managing trade. Their argument is that this misses something important.
Sam: What does it miss?
Alex: The history behind the word. The authors suggest that geoeconomics isn't a fresh, neutral concept. It's deeply rooted in early twentieth-century ideas about empire, nationalism, and territorial competition. By forgetting that history, they argue, we end up blind to how these policies are actually driven by power.
Sam: So we're treating trade strategy as if it exists in a vacuum, separate from the way countries compete for dominance?
Alex: Precisely. And to explain the relationship between those two things—trade and power—the authors propose thinking of geopolitics and geoeconomics not as separate fields, but as a single, ongoing tension. Imagine two partners tied together by a bungee cord.
Sam: Who are the two partners?
Alex: One is global capital—the drive to expand markets, move money, and do business across borders without restriction. The other is the nation-state, which wants to protect its own territory, industries, and power. These two forces are always pulling against each other. When capital pushes too far outward, the nation-state snaps back to protect its interests. When the state clamps down too hard, capital finds ways around it.
Sam: And neither side ever really wins?
Alex: That's the key point. The authors call this back-and-forth a "dialectic"—which just means an ongoing struggle between two opposing forces that keeps shaping the world without ever fully resolving. Neither force disappears. They just keep reacting to each other, and the world order shifts as a result.
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Sam: So if policymakers ignore this tension, they're essentially misreading what's actually happening?
Alex: The authors would say yes. Their concern is that policymakers often treat economic security as a technical, non-political problem—something to be solved with the right formula. But the paper argues it's always an expression of state power, with a lot of historical baggage attached.
Sam: How do they make that case? Do they just look at current trade disputes?
Alex: No, and this is where their method becomes interesting. They use an approach called "genealogy"—instead of starting with today's headlines, they trace these ideas back to the early 1900s to see how they evolved. Think of it like being a detective who doesn't just look at the crime scene, but goes back to find out how the suspect became who they are.
Sam: Why does going back that far matter?
Alex: Because those early thinkers—the paper mentions figures like Arthur Dix—were grappling with very similar problems: debt, trade competition, national survival. But their solutions were openly tied to nationalist and imperialist goals. The authors' point is that the "neutral" tools we use today may have inherited some of that original character, even if we've given them cleaner, more technical-sounding names.
Sam: So by digging up these old theories, they're showing that the modern vocabulary might be carrying some old, uncomfortable assumptions?
Alex: That's the argument. They want to strip away the idea that geoeconomics is a fresh, objective concept and show it as what they call a "historical project"—something that was built for specific purposes, by specific people, at specific moments.
Sam: Did they find that those old ideas actually show up in how countries behave today?
Alex: They point to what they see as a telling irony. Policies like the United States' Inflation Reduction Act, or the broader competition over semiconductor manufacturing—what some have called the "Chip War"—are still shaped by the same mix of capitalist expansion and territorial rivalry that defined the 1920s. The scripts have been updated, but the underlying logic is familiar.
Sam: That's a striking observation. But I want to push back a little. Is this just a historical critique? Does it actually help a policymaker navigate a crisis today?
Alex: That's a fair challenge, and the paper is honest about its scope. It's not offering a step-by-step manual for resolving geopolitical disputes. Its contribution is more about changing the lens you look through.
Sam: Meaning—before you design a policy, you first have to admit what you're actually doing?
Alex: Exactly. The authors call this "grounded witnessing." If you adopt their framework, you have to acknowledge that "economic security" is rarely a neutral goal. It's always an expression of state power, shaped by history. That acknowledgment changes how you read the advice you're getting—from think tanks, from international institutions, from your own economists.
Sam: So there's no such thing as a truly fair or neutral trade policy, because the history of power is always built into the system?
Alex: That's the implication. And the authors suggest that recognizing this is itself useful—because it means we can stop pretending these are purely technical, non-political solutions and start asking whose interests they actually serve.
Sam: You mentioned earlier that they want to move beyond just chasing definitions. Does that mean the word "geoeconomics" itself is the problem?
Alex: Not the word, exactly—more the way it's used to sidestep questions of power. They'd rather we trace the histories of these ideas than spend time arguing over a dictionary definition. Instead of asking "what is the perfect definition of geoeconomics," they want us to ask "how did this idea come to be, and who does it benefit?"
Sam: That reframing feels significant. It shifts the question from abstract to concrete.
Alex: That's precisely their goal. They call it a "critical geoeconomics" project—moving the focus from abstract concepts to the actual social relationships and historical circumstances that produced them. And that's why they keep returning to moments like the Cold War or the collapse of the Bretton Woods monetary system. Each of those shifts changed which scripts countries were reading from.
Sam: It's a bit like looking at a map. You can see the borders, but the map doesn't tell you why those borders are there, or what it took to draw them.
Alex: That's a good way to put it. The paper is an invitation to look at the map of global trade and see the history of power, empire, and rivalry written into it—not as background noise, but as the actual story.
Sam: So the takeaway for anyone working in policy is: be skeptical of advice that presents itself as purely technical and neutral?
Alex: The paper suggests that every policy has a history, and that history is usually about competition—not just efficiency. The dialectic between capital and the nation-state is still running. Critical geoeconomics, as the authors frame it, is a tool for reading that tension clearly, rather than pretending it isn't there.
Sam: That's a sobering thought. Even when we talk about supply chains or trade strategy, we're still playing out the same old contest between nations.
Alex: That's the core of their argument. And they'd say the first step toward more honest policymaking is simply admitting that. Thanks for listening to ResearchPod.