Agents and opponents of neoliberal globalization: military elites and the reorganization of global supply chains in a post-neoliberal era

Abstract The reorganization of global supply chains and productive capabilities is arguably one the most significant indicators that the economic integration of previous decades and the neoliberal institutional arrangements that once supported them are weakening. A key driver of these trends has been the elevation of “national security” concerns, spurred by COVID-related lockdowns, war in Ukraine, and geopolitical rivalry between the USA and China. Yet the perspectives of military elites and planners who make war and preparation for war their vocation remain an understudied subject among scholars of neoliberalism and global governance. This article addresses this gap by focusing on how American militarists understood the threats and opportunities posed by greater economic integration during the previous era of neoliberalism’s ascendency. It identifies a noteworthy divergence in thinking and discusses how this divergence offers new insights on the significance of recent initiatives to achieve “supply chain security” in a post-neoliberal era.