Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the world was
no longer a contested space between two military superpowers – NATO vs Warsaw
Pact – and two massive economic camps – US vs USSR. We often speak about the
American invasion of Panama (1989) and war in Iraq (1990), to demarcate the
uncontested American ascendency in global affairs. What we often omit is that
the military and geopolitical component of this war was accompanied by an
economic one.
As Panama and Iraq were meant to demonstrate US military dominance, the
establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994-5, was meant to
illustrate Washington’s economic outlook in this new world order.
