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Deconstructing Deglobalization

US President Donald Trump and his advisers’ fierce rhetoric on trade and immigration has led some to wonder if our current era of globalization is now at risk. If it is, an even more pertinent question is whether the end will be accompanied by violence.

PRINCETON – US President Donald Trump and his advisers’ fierce rhetoric on trade and immigration has led some to wonder if our current era of globalization is now at risk. If it is, an even more pertinent question is whether the end will be accompanied by violence.

Stock markets have become increasingly jittery, owing to recollections of past moments when international economic integration was thrown into reverse. New trade wars or military conflicts could conceivably unravel the complex commercial interrelationships that have delivered prosperity since World War II.

In previous episodes of deglobalization, catastrophic events such as World War I or the financial crash of 1929 disrupted the flows of commerce, finance, and people that had previously linked countries together. One result of these crises was that nationality and citizenship became the key components of political and social life.

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