The New Economic Nationalism

The authors provide an extensive analysis of economic nationalism, which they define as policies designed to strengthen national economic autonomy and self-sufficiency while also spurring economic growth and building greater geopolitical influence. An economic nationalist platform can include tariffs, investment restrictions, curbs on immigration, and various forms of industrial policy. The authors consider cases as varied as fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in the 1930s, industrialization based on import substitution in Argentina and developmental economic nationalism in East Asia after World War II, and the new economic nationalism in China under President Xi Jinping and in India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Although in some instances nationalist policies have successfully sparked development and sustained economic growth, in others they have led only to fiscal imbalances, inflation, and economic stagnation. This monograph provides a wealth of detail on historical examples of both successes and failures, but it leaves two important matters unaddressed. The authors do not delineate the social, political, and historical circumstances that result in positive outcomes in some cases but negative consequences in others. And they do not consider the likely results of economic nationalist policies pursued by the United States, although that is clearly an impetus for the book.