Questioning the Rise of the South I: Economic Globalisation and US Power

Abstract

This chapter is the first substantive chapter to address the rising South thesis. It does so by first examining the question of the political economy of globalisation and why—for all its difficulties—it is a useful concept for understanding changes in the international order in recent years. It then shows, however, that this does not lead to a “flat earth” globalisation (as neoliberals but also some transnational capitalism theorists suggest) because of the differential power of states, but also the differential power of capitals, which still retain some significant degree of nationality, even as they have “globalised.” This is demonstrated through looking in depth at corporate ownership structures, and it shows how US capital continues to play a leading role in global capitalism, and that the significance of the BRICs, though growing, is still relatively small. This discussion is then used to revisit the questions of modernisation and dependency.