State Capitalism and Global Political Economy

State capitalism denotes a mode of economic organisation in which the state plays a central role as investor, regulator and owner of productive assets. Emerging from shifts in global markets, geopolitical contestation and the quest for developmental autonomy, state capitalism has evolved beyond its traditional association with large state-owned enterprises. Today it encompasses sovereign wealth funds, state-directed industrial policy, public–private co-investment schemes and the mobilisation of digital platforms for strategic ends. In the contemporary global political economy, governments deploy state-capital instruments to secure technological sovereignty, steer post-crisis reconstruction, advance green transitions and project influence across borders. This hybridisation of public authority and market mechanisms has profound implications for supply-chain governance, international financial architecture and the adaptation of multilateral institutions. While state capitalism can accelerate infrastructure development and foster industrial upgrading, it also raises questions of transparency, governance accountability and systemic stability within a multi-polar economic landscape.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have elucidated the role of corporations as quasi-state actors within the evolving framework of global governance. One foundational analysis frames global corporations as institutions of governance in their own right, operating alongside and sometimes in place of traditional intergovernmental bodies. This work highlights the emergence of corporate self-regulation mechanisms, the collective rule-setting of business consortia and the blurring of boundaries between public mandates and private authority. By conceptualising corporations as governance actors, this research deepens our understanding of how state, market and corporate spheres intertwine to shape regulatory landscapes and transnational policy outcomes.

State Capitalism and Global Political Economy publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in state capitalism and global political economy across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

State capitalism: An economic system in which the state exerts strong directive influence over markets through ownership, regulation and investment activities.

Platform capitalism: A model of digital economy in which states and private platforms mutually reinforce each other’s power to collect data, control standards and project geopolitical influence.

State interventionism: The set of policies and instruments through which governments actively shape economic outcomes, including subsidies, public investment and regulatory mandates.

Economic statecraft: The use of economic means—such as sanctions, loans and delegated private activity—to achieve strategic geopolitical objectives.

References

1. Who’s in charge? Corporations as institutions of global governance. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2015).
2. Private equity firms and industrial policy: elaborating the state-finance nexus in state-led markets. New Political Economy (2024).
3. The US–China rivalry and the emergence of state platform capitalism. Environment and Planning A Economy and Space (2023).
4. A partial conversion: how the ‘unholy trinity’ of global economic governance adapts to state capitalism. European Journal of International Relations (2024).