The mercantilist motive for territorial war

The promise of a grand peace in the 21st century arising from globalisation through liberal economic interdependence and political collective security is less likely due to the scarcity of critical resources globally, domestic structures within the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the capacity for independence of the PRC’s domestic market. Domestic demand may outstrip global supply leading to a mercantilist motive for territorial war. This paper identifies the systemic context—the success of the multilateral liberal market—and the great size of the PRC as potential drivers for China to adopt mercantilist policies which include the use of force to acquire resources. This potential for the use of mercantilism, which results from a developmental paradox, in addition to the demographic transition towards 10 billion people, provides a rationale to employ the perspective of global development so as to revise the ideological bases and arising development model of the global political economy.