Geoeconomics, Statecraft and International Security

News cycles are replete with information about how China is weaponizing access to its market to obtain political concessions from other states, or how Russia aims at evading economic sanctions. The neoliberal globalization that followed the end of the Cold War and spread across the Globe in the 1990s has accelerated the mutual interdependence of national economies, but has not eliminated political competition. In the context of a return of great power rivalries, states are now incentivized to use economic tools for political objectives, and in return try to protect themselves from such vulnerabilities. But this politicization of economics creates a dilemma between prosperity and security, which many states are struggling to solve. This class will discuss such dilemmas, the ways economic issues are used for political gains, and the instruments that Denmark and the EU are developing in order to protect themselves in this new geoeconomic context.