Books War and the World Economy: Trade, Tech and Military Conflicts in a De-globalising World Book by William Jefferies

"War and the World Economy: Trade, Tech and Military Conflicts in a De-globalising World" by William Jefferies analyzes the global economic and geopolitical shifts since the end of the Cold War, focusing on the transition from an era of globalization to de-globalization. The book argues that neoliberal policies from the 1980s failed to restore sustained capitalist prosperity, leading to the exhaustion of globalization’s dynamism and a reversal of integration trends in production, trade, and finance that had characterized recent decades. Jefferies provides a comparative analysis of U.S. and Chinese economic development, noting rising imperialist tensions and trade and technology rivalries, especially between these two powers.

Drawing on Marxist theory, the book explains the renewed drive toward military conflict as a consequence of capitalism’s recurring crises and structural changes in the global economy. While it highlights the deteriorating geopolitical landscape and the potential for war, particularly between the U.S. and China, Jefferies suggests that war is not an unavoidable outcome if class struggle and political strategies shift in alternative directions.

The book revolves around three main themes: the contrast between globalization and de-globalization, the tension between great power conflict and cooperation, and the changing dynamics of trade and technological integration. It situates current military conflicts and economic challenges within a broad historical and theoretical framework of global capitalism's structural transformation in this new phase of de-globalization and multi-polar rivalry