After the cold war, America and Europe established an economic order based upon open markets, global trade and limited state meddling in the economy. Climate change was a distant threat. Allowing countries like China or Russia into the global economy was widely seen to be beneficial for both them and their Western trading partners. As the two countries grew they would surely adopt market economics and, ultimately, democracy. Other things mattered. But economic considerations took precedence.
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Not anymore. Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic have come to the conclusion that national security and climate change must now come first. In Brussels talk is of “economic security” and “strategic autonomy”—policymakers want the bloc to be able to chart its own course. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, recently said that she wants to…
This article was written by and originally published on www.economist.com