Global Alternatives
№24 Geopolitical Economy: The Discipline of Multipolarity
#24_Valdai paper_Geopolitical Economy-The Discipline of Multipolarity_Desai
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The 24th Valdai paper argues for a new academic discipline, geopolitical economy, which is better to understand the multipolar world, reconstruct its historical evolution and assess its progressive potential.

With growth in China and other emerging economies spreading productive and political power far beyond its original strongholds in the West and Japan, the idea that the world is fast becoming multipolar should be uncontroversial. But nevertheless, to the author’s mind, the two disciplines that study world affairs in the Western world, international relations (IR) and international political economy (IPE), failed to anticipate or explain this phenomenon. The author suggests to found a new discipline – geopolitical economy, best suited to informing institutions and practices that might exploit multipolarity’s potential for a more equal and just world.

The author of the article is Radhika Desai, Professor at the Department of Political Studies, Director of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group, University of Manitoba,Winnipeg, Canada.