Economics of Power

Who controls the global economy – and how do states fight to change the rules of the game? This book develops Offensive Realism Economics, a research programme linking interstate rivalry to the institutions, infrastructures, and rules that make economic transactions possible. Its central mechanism, transactional orchestration, explains how public authorities seek to reshape access, dependence, and value capture. The analysis examines why these efforts succeed, fail, or undermine the advantages they seek to preserve.Comparative cases cover the United States, China, the European Union, middle powers, small states, and transforming economies. The book connects their strategies to the adaptation of Bretton Woods and wider changes in global economic order. It carefully distinguishes raw economic resources and policy interventions from actual gains in relative economic power – and reveals how power can persist through the routine operation of established arrangements long after open rivalry fades.Written for scholars, students, policy analysts, government officials, and business strategists, the book offers a framework for understanding economic power and practical guidance for investigating it. It will also interest readers seeking to understand how geopolitical competition reshapes markets, technologies, and institutions, and what these changes mean for economic policy and business decisions.