From Globalization to Regionalization

The United States was undisputed leader of economic globalization until the 2008 global financial crisis. The country’s moral and economic leadership has since gone into decline. The US share of global gross domestic product has dropped for more than 20 years, from 32 percent to 22 percent. This has reduced the benefits from economic globalization while global commitments remain unchanged. The Trump administration has started a realignment, scaling down commitments and suggesting that the United States can no longer afford to be a global power. “Another administration would have little choice but to do the same, albeit with another style and vocabulary,” explains author Joergen Oerstroem Moeller. Regionalization may fill the vacuum and demography, technology, regional supply chains, investment flows and trade/investment agreements are driving this seminal shift. Three regional blocks may emerge: the Western Hemisphere, East Asia plus Southeast Asia perhaps with South Asia, and Europe probably with part of Africa. – YaleGlobal