Linkages Between Economic and Military Imperialism

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World Review of Political Economy

Volume 11, Issue 3

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Linkages Between Economic and Military Imperialism

research-article

Author(s): Isaac Christiansen

Publication date (Print): 1 October 2020

Journal: World Review of Political Economy

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: economic imperialism, military imperialism, military spending

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Abstract

Much has been written both about economic and military manifestations of empire, but there are fewer examinations of how the two are interconnected. This article explores five forms of linking motivations by which economic imperialism escalates into military interventions: resource covetous, enterprise-specific, system protective, empire share, and military-industrialist linkages. The first three types describe how imperial relations between empires and client states may lead military interventions in the latter by the former to ensure control of critical resources, corporate dominance of a client state's land or industry, or to safeguard global capitalism itself. Empire share linkages are reflected when conflict among imperialist countries themselves develops into wars among core countries, while military-industrial linkages are when the interests of the arms and related industries themselves become a motivation for military interventions. These connections are not mutually exclusive, and each may be manifested to a lesser or greater degree in various imperialist interventions simultaneously.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50005553

Journal ID (jcode): worlrevipoliecon

Title: World Review of Political Economy

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN: 2042-891X

ISSN: 2042-8928

Publication date (Print): 1 October 2020

Volume: 11

Issue: 3 ( doiID: 10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.11.issue-3 )

Pages: 337-356

Article

Publisher ID: worlrevipoliecon.11.3.0337

DOI: 10.13169/worlrevipoliecon.11.3.0337

SO-VID: 2ffe8b04-e927-4d32-b9bb-c730141d1b1b

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Political economics

Keywords: military spending,economic imperialism,military imperialism

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Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Al Jazeera. 2019. “Nigerians Repatriated from South Africa after Attacks.” Accessed January 5, 2020. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/nigeria-begins-repatriate-nationals-south-africa-190911074310949.html.

[2] Amin, S. 2016. Russia and the Long Transition from Capitalism to Socialism. New York: Monthly Review Press.

[3] Berry, A., and J. Serieux. 2006. “Riding the Elephants: The Evolution of World Economic Growth and Income Distribution at the End of the Twentieth Century (1980–2000).” Working paper, no. 27, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Accessed January 5, 2020. https://core.ac.uk/reader/7189007.

[4] Blum, W. 2004. Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions since WWII. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press.

[5] Blum, W. 2014. America's Deadliest Export: Democracy, The Truth about US Foreign Policy and Everything Else. London: Zed Books.

[6] Bolender, K. 2019. The Media War Against Cuba. London: Pluto Press.

[7] Castro, F. R. (1979)1989. “We Represent the Great Majority of Humanity.” In The Right to Dignity: Fidel Castro and the Nonaligned Movement, edited by D. Deutchmann and D. Shnookal, 43–71. Melbourne: E. Ocean Press.

[8] Chomsky, N. 2016. Who Rules the World? New York: Picador.

[9] Cobb, C., T. Halstead, and J. Rowe. 1995. “If the GDP Is Up, Why Is America Down?” Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/politics/ecbig/gdp.htm.

[10] Cumings, B. 2004. North Korea: Another Country. New York: New Press.

[11] Democracy Now! 2019. “Venezuela in Crisis: As US Pushes Regime Change, Fear Grows of Civil War and Famine.” Democracy Now!. February 19, 2019. Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.democracynow.org/2019/2/19/venezuela_in_crisis_as_us_pushes.

[12] Dollar, D., and A. Kraay. 2004. “Growth Is Good for the Poor.” In The Globalization Reader, 2nd ed., edited by F. J. Lechner and J. Boli, 117–182. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

[13] Dunbar Ortiz, R. 2014. An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

[14] Feinsilver, J. 2009. “Cuba Health Politics at Home and Abroad.” In The Socialist Register 2010: Morbid Symptoms, edited by L. Panitch and C. Leys, 216–239. New York: Monthly Review Press.

[15] Forster, T., A. E. Kentikelenis, T. H. Stubbs, and L. P. King. 2020. “Globalization and Health Equity: The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programs on Developing Countries.” Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953619304897.

[16] Foster, J. B., 2019. “Late Imperialism: Fifty Years after Harry Magdoff's The Age of Imperialism.” Monthly Review 71 (3): 1–19.

[17] Foster, J. B., and R. W. McChesney. 2012. The Endless Crisis: How Monopoly Finance Capital Produces Stagnation and Upheaval from the USA to China. New York: Monthly Review Press.

[18] Galeano, E. (1971) 2003. Las Venas Abiertas de América Latina [The Open Veins of Latin America]. Madrid: Siglo XXI.

[19] Hartung, W. D., and M. Smithberger. 2019. “America's Defense Budget Is Bigger than You Think.” The Nation, May 7. Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.thenation.com/article/tom-dispatch-america-defense-budget-bigger-than-you-think/.

[20] Harvey, D. 2005. A Brief History of Neoliberalism. New York: Oxford University Press.

[21] Herman, E., and N. Chomsky. 2002. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books.

[22] Hossein-Zadeh, I. 2006. The Political Economy of US Militarism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

[23] Hossein-Zadeh, I. 2007. “Why the US Is Not Leaving Iraq: The Booming Business of War Profiteers.” Accessed May 27, 2020. https://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/168/35996.html.

[24] Kautsky, K. 1914. “Ultra-Imperialism.” Marxists Internet Archive. Accessed April 11, 2021. https://www.marxists.org/archive/kautsky/1914/09/ultra-imp.htm.

[25] Koerner, L., and R. Vaz. 2020. “Venezuela: Guaido's Leadership in Question Following Failed Coup Attempt.” Accessed May 27, 2020. https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14876.

[26] Lamrani, S. 2014. The Economic War Against Cuba: A Historical and Legal Perspective on the US Blockade. New York: Monthly Review Press.

[27] Lenin, V. (1917) 2018. Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism. London: Aziloth Books.

[28] Magdoff, H. 1969. The Age of Imperialism. New York: Monthly Review Press.

[29] Mandel, E. (1978) 2006. “Introduction.” In Capital, vol. II, by K. Marx, 11–79. London: Penguin Books.

[30] Marquart, M. 2009. “Globalization: The Pathway to Prosperity, Freedom and Peace.” Human Resource Development International 8 (1): 127–129.

[31] Mazzucato, M. 2020. “Capitalism's Triple Crisis.” Accessed May 27, 2020. https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/covid19-crises-of-capitalism-new-state-role-by-mariana-maz-zucato-2020-03.

[32] Milanovic, B. 2005. Worlds Apart: Measuring International and Global Inequality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

[33] MR Online. 2020. “Genocide and Military Occupation: The Five Most Important Keys to the Guaidó-Silvercorp Contract.” Accessed May 27, 2020. https://mronline.org/2020/05/12/genocide-and-military-occupation-the-five-most-important-keys-to-the-guaido-silvercorp-contract/#lightbox/1/.

[34] Office of the Historian. 1960. “Memorandum from the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Mallory) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs (Rubottom).” Accessed June 15, 2020. https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1958-60v06/d499.

[35] Oxfam. 2019. “Public Good or Private Wealth.” Accessed June 15, 2020. https://oxfamilibrary.open-repository.com/bitstream/handle/10546/620599/bp-public-good-or-private-wealth-210119-en.pdf.

[36] Parenti, M. 2011. The Face of Imperialism. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.

[37] Rodney, W. 1972. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Washington, DC: Howard University Press.

[38] SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). 2018. “The SIPRI Top-100 Arms-Producing and Military Services Companies in the World (Excluding China).” Accessed December 15, 2018. https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2019-12/1912_fs_top_100_2018_0.pdf.

[39] SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute). 2020. “Military Expenditure by Country, in Millions of $US at Current Prices and Exchange Rates, 1949–2019.” Accessed July 2, 2020. https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/SIPRI-Milex-data-1949-2019.xlsx.

[40] Smith, J. 2016. Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century: Globalization, Super-Exploitation and Capitalism's Final Crisis. New York: Monthly Review Press.

[41] Suwandi, I. 2019. Value Chains: The New Economic Imperialism. New York: Monthly Review Press.

[42] Varoufakis, Y. 2019, “Capitalism Will Eat Democracy—Unless We Speak Up.” Ted Talks, Accessed September 20, 2019. https://www.ted.com/talks/yanis_varoufakis_capitalism_will_eat_democracy_unless_we_speak_up?language=en.

[43] Venezuelanalysis.com. 2006. “Venezuela Buys More Argentine Debt.” Accessed June 15, 2020. https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/1617.

[44] Wolff, R. 2012. Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books.

[45] Wood, E. M. 2003. Empire of Capital. New York: Verso.