Editorial: A Critique of Geoeconomics

Abstract

A prevailing interpretation of the current era describes the profound transformation in the global economic landscape as the »age of geo-economics«. This is said to be characterised by intensifying inter-state competition, trade wars, sanctions regimes and investment controls, as well as a race for technological supremacy and control over value chains. In this context, the intertwining of security policy motives and economic strategies is receiving considerable attention. In this issue, we examine the current state of »geoeconomics« and take a critical look at the prevailing interpretation found not only in International Relations and Political Economy, but also in influential think tanks and foreign policy circles, in which geoeconomics – understood as the logic of global economic competition – is set against geopolitics – understood as the logic of war.