Conflict and cooperation in the semiconductor industry: the global evolution of chip production

Semiconductors, or what are commonly referred to as "chips", have become a central feature of global geopolitical concerns and tensions over the last few years.Their widespread use in a range of goods such as cars, consumer electronics, communication devices, and military equipment means that they are vital to many important human activities and endeavors.In addition, the perceived shortage in semiconductor supply during the Covid-19 pandemic has focused the minds of governments and companies alike in terms of their ability to source chips from faraway parts of the globe.The fragility of global supply chains has also been exacerbated by ongoing tensions in the relationship between the United States and China; tensions that have spilled over to other nations and their firms.It is, therefore, very timely that 2022 sees the publication of two books that shed detailed light on the changing nature of the global chip industry.The first is "Interconnected Worlds: Global Electronics and Production Networks in East Asia" by Henry Wai-chung Yeung, and the second is "Chip War: The Fight for the World"s Most Critical Technology" by Chris Miller.At the outset, it should be said that both are outstanding contributions and significantly advance our understanding of the huge complexities and challenges that exist within the global production networks and global political economy of contemporary high technology-based industries.Both authors have been able to craft an accessible narrative around what is undoubtedly a complex area of technology based on an intricate set of relationships and networks.Yeung is an economic geographer and bases his book on a forensic analysis of the supply networks of the global electronics industry with a focus on the rapidly growing East Asian industry.Miller is a historian with a focus on technology and geopolitics and "Chip War" explores the global evolution of the semiconductor industry.In contrast to Yeung, Miller"s perspective is the semiconductor industry in the United States, its evolution, and recent challenges.Both books are comprehensive, each having more than 400 pages.Yeung"s book excels in analyzing a huge range of both quantitative and qualitative data that maps the various sectors that make up the electronics industry, while Miller pulls together archival data along with data from interviews with some of the industry"s most important players in order to plot the decisions that led to today"s global composition.In "Interconnected Worlds" Yeung provides a co-evolutionary analysis of changes in the location and complexity of electronics production and associated networks.Across seven