Military power needs to be financed and economic development is often shaped by military conflict, thus the interaction of military and economy, power and money is central to the modern world. This book provides an accessible introduction to the economics of the use of organized force, with a wide range of historical and current examples.
By losing their ability to control exchange rates and protect their currencies, nation states, assers Ohmae, have forfeited their role as critical participants in the global economy. Ohmae contends that five great forces have usurped the economic power once held by the nation state, resulting in the rise of region states which have closer links to the global economy than to their "host" nations.