Trade is not an end in itself; it is a tool the U.S. should use to build allied power and constrain the CCP. We must move beyond trade agreements toward comprehensive strategic partnerships.
Excellent framing on the shift from globalism to strategic realism. The Harold Berman quote about Soviet monopolistic trading power hits different when we see how the CCP operates today, same playbook just more sophisticated. I worked on trade policy research in grad school and remembr the Fukuyama-era optimism was intoxicating, but treating economic integration as a democratization solvent was wishful thinking. The comprehensive strategic partnership framework makes sense cause traditional trade deals keep pretending economics exists in a vacuum seperate from security and tech competition.
Excellent framing on the shift from globalism to strategic realism. The Harold Berman quote about Soviet monopolistic trading power hits different when we see how the CCP operates today, same playbook just more sophisticated. I worked on trade policy research in grad school and remembr the Fukuyama-era optimism was intoxicating, but treating economic integration as a democratization solvent was wishful thinking. The comprehensive strategic partnership framework makes sense cause traditional trade deals keep pretending economics exists in a vacuum seperate from security and tech competition.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Good point about trade as a supposed solvent. Wasn't strong enough to penetrate CCP .