Geoeconomics and National Production Regimes: On German Exportism and the Integration of Economic and Security Policy

Abstract

Increasingly open conflict in the global political economy has triggered profound shifts in both policy and rhetoric around the intersection of economic openness and security. We propose to use ‘geoeconomics’ as a lens to analyze such shifts by integrating the study of four analytical domains: (1) national production regimes, (2) power relations in world markets and global order, (3) foreign economic policies, and (4) security policies. By applying this approach to Germany, an export–dependent and security-exposed middle power, we shed light on how the recalibration of Germany’s foreign policies and alliance politics submits to its accumulation regime under pressure. Against this background, the chapter suggests ways forward for cross-disciplinary engagement between IR and political economy approaches under the header of ‘geoeconomics’.