Fall 2026
Introduction to Geoeconomics: Power, Interdependence, and Turbulence in the Global Economy
Dates: September 15, 2026 – December 22, 2026Day/Time: Tuesday; Thursday 8:00 AM - 9:20 AM EDT
Level: 100-Level
Certificate: Global Studies
Global Studies certificate requirement: Elective.
Instructor: Sobhi Samour, Al-Quds Bard College
Recent headlines suggest a global economy in transformation. The logic of mutually beneficial exchange and multilateralism that underpinned the liberal economic order is increasingly displaced by the use of economic instruments to pursue geopolitical goals. This is the world of geoeconomics, a concept now widely invoked by policymakers, think tanks, and financial actors. This course introduces geoeconomics as a framework for understanding how trade, finance, sanctions, and technology are deployed to advance geopolitical objectives. It also engages critical perspectives that question the novelty of the concept, interpreting geoeconomics as the latest expression of a longer history of economic imperialism.
The first part examines the conventional understanding of geoeconomics as strategic statecraft rooted in realist theories of international relations. Students explore how states mobilize economic tools for strategic advantage and how global interdependence has itself become a source of power, as captured by the concept of “weaponized interdependence.” The second part shifts attention from the strategies of powerful states to the experiences of countries and regions targeted by geoeconomic measures. It asks whether geoeconomics represents a genuinely new phenomenon or merely repackages contemporary forms of imperialism.
Case studies include sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine; the US–China trade and technology conflict; the freezing of Russian and Iranian assets; the use of financial infrastructures such as SWIFT; and US restrictions on Venezuelan oil exports. Together, these cases illustrate how economic relations have become central to geopolitical rivalry.