Author Identifier
Naoise McDonagh: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6136-1166
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Australian Journal of International Affairs
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
School
School of Business and Law
Publication Unique Identifier
10.1080/10357718.2025.2471353
RAS ID
78303
Abstract
This study examines how US-China geopolitical rivalry is reshaping global economic order. It identifies gaps in existing research on hegemonic state behaviour and presents an alternative theory based on cultural realism. This latter builds on realism by arguing that political culture influences the intensity of geopolitical tensions. Drawing on domestic political discourse, this study demonstrates that US and China geopolitical tensions are driven by conflicting national political cultures that generate competing visions of global order, reducing the capacity of international institutions to sustain cooperation. This divergence manifest in geoeconomic competition and weaking multilateralism. Theoretical expectations suggest an emerging geoeconomic world economy operating alongside the WTO-based multilateral economic order. The article analyses recent US industrial policies as a case study illustrating this dual order. The simultaneous existence of multilateralism and geoeconomic competition, implies governments face a novel, highly complex policy domain in an era of rising national economic security needs.
DOI
10.1080/10357718.2025.2471353
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
McDonagh, N. (2025). US-China competition, world order and economic decoupling: Insights from cultural realism. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 79(3), 364-384. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2025.2471353