The Historical Political Economy of Globalization

Abstract

Globalization has a long history, although how long depends on how you define it. That history teaches us that globalization is not irreversible: that it ebbs and flows over time, and that it would be foolish to assume that today’s hyper-globalization is necessarily here to stay. This chapter argues that one cannot understand the history of globalization without taking political factors into account – both domestic political forces and geopolitics shape, and are shaped by, international economic integration. It also argues that one cannot understand the history of comparative economic development without taking globalization into account. Globalization compels observers to take geography seriously and to think more like historians.