Potomac Institutefor Policy Studies
STEPS Journal Article

Leveraging Strength in Economic Statecraft

Authors
Francis A. Finelli, Timothy Welter, PhD
Published
July 2025
Appears in
Issue 11 · July 2025

Opening

There was once a time when it was assumed that China would move toward liberal democratic institutions and, with that, pursue a more open capitalist economy. This assumption was based on the argument that as China grew richer through capital investment and market-driven economic expansion, its population’s values and outlook would become more Westernized.

Excerpted from the article's opening lines.

The full text is available from the links below.

This article will be migrated from the current STEPS website. Until then, read it in its original location or in the full-issue PDF.

Share

Related Publications

  • Economic Security

    War By Other Ledgers: A Compilation of Articles on Modern Economic Statecraft

    This book grew out of several years of work under the Institute's Global Competition Project. Its chapters expand on an 11-part article series with War on the Rocks, exploring how the United States might evolve contemporary economic statecraft into strategy and practice.

    Tim Welter (ed.), Jennifer Buss (ed.), Kimberly Sloan (ed.)

    BookSep 30, 2026
  • Economic Security

    Academia’s Critical Role in Developing an Economic Security Workforce

    The tenth article in an 11-part series with War on the Rocks. The United States is fighting a new kind of global competition — over supply chains, chips, and sanctions — and the workforce pipeline to support it does not yet exist at the scale the moment requires.

    Jennifer Buss

    OpinionJul 16, 2026