The Cracks in the Foundation: How US Economic Coercion is Fracturing the Global Order
For decades, the global economic landscape has been largely defined by American influence – a “hub-and-spoke” system with the United States at its center. However, this seemingly stable order is undergoing a profound shift, slowly fragmenting into a multipolar world characterized by parallel systems and a growing resistance to US dominance. This isn’t a sudden collapse, but a gradual erosion of the very infrastructure that underpinned America’s global power, a dynamic meticulously detailed in Farrell and Newman’s compelling new work, Underground Empire.
The central irony is stark: the very interdependence that once provided the US with notable leverage is now fueling a process of disintegration. Each instance of weaponized sanctions, export bans, and the extraterritorial request of US law acts as a catalyst, pushing nations to seek alternatives and insulate themselves from American influence. What was once perceived as a reliable,rules-based system is increasingly viewed with suspicion,prompting countries to actively hedge against – or even escape – its reach.
Underground Empire doesn’t predict an immediate dethroning of US economic primacy. Instead, it offers a nuanced analysis of how the repeated, and often strategically incoherent, use of economic coercion is systematically undermining trust, alienating allies, and accelerating the growth of alternative systems. This isn’t a clean break, but a slow, insidious decay of the foundational “plumbing” that enabled America’s global role.
The book’s strength lies in its ability to connect seemingly disparate events - the weaponization of finance, restrictions on Chinese tech firms, the politicization of semiconductor supply chains, and the aggressive enforcement of US law abroad – revealing them not as isolated policy choices, but as symptoms of a deeper structural shift. this shift transforms infrastructure into leverage,but ultimately converts that leverage into a liability. The authors demonstrate how the tools of economic power, when wielded indiscriminately, become self-defeating.
Farrell and Newman, as political scientists, maintain a sober yet pragmatic tone. They acknowledge the considerable advantages the US still possesses,but crucially,they emphasize that power without strategic discipline is inherently perilous. The US has fallen into a pattern of defaulting to economic coercion, often without adequately considering long-term consequences. Sanctions are frequently imposed without clear exit strategies, export controls launched without a viable theory of victory, and tools accumulate without a cohesive overarching strategy. The system, burdened by its own contradictions, is beginning to buckle.
Beyond the geopolitical analysis, Underground Empire raises essential philosophical questions. What kind of power is truly compatible with a liberal republic? Can a democracy maintain its legitimacy while together weaponizing the very structures it claims are worldwide and rules-based? At what point does hegemony devolve into hypocrisy? these aren’t merely rhetorical devices; Farrell and Newman present them with a quiet insistence,challenging readers to move beyond simplistic narratives of values and norms.
The book implicitly demands a critical choice for the United States: retrenchment or recalibration. To preserve its global position, Washington must exercise restraint in its use of economic tools, actively rebuild trust in its networks, and prioritize diplomacy over unilateral coercion. Failure to do so will result in an “underground empire” – a hollow shell of former influence, intact in form but decaying from within.
The warning signs are already visible. The BRICS economic bloc is expanding its membership, China is actively promoting its Cross-Border Interbank Payment System as an alternative to the SWIFT system, and European nations are exploring non-dollar channels for energy transactions. Even US tech giants, once powerful instruments of soft power, are increasingly caught in the crosshairs of sovereign regulatory battles. The previously invisible infrastructure is now in plain sight, and nations are actively planning their exits.
Underground Empire isn’t simply a commentary on US foreign policy; it marks a turning point in the global order. The era of unipolar economic dominance, underpinned by US-centric infrastructure, is drawing to a close. The future remains uncertain, but the authors leave no doubt that if Washington continues to treat the global economy as a battlefield, it risks finding itself increasingly isolated.
This is a vital and timely book.It’s clear, lucid, and profoundly unsettling in its implications. It doesn’t offer easy answers or succumb to fatalism, but rather provides a clear-eyed assessment of how we arrived at this critical juncture and the potential costs of inaction. For policymakers,strategists,and anyone seeking to understand the future of american power and the evolving global order,Underground Empire is essential reading. It doesn’t tell you what to think, but it compels you to confront what is.
Worth a look