The Hidden Globe

Abrahamian covers examples of geographic areas shaped by the ideological currents of neoliberalism, globalization, and nationalism. All of the examples she covers, such as freeports in cities like Geneva and the charter city of Prospera in Honduras, are slightly different. Indeed, some of them have decades or even centuries-old historical roots. What ties all of these places together is the way they manifest the predominant ideological structure of contemporary economics and governance.

Neoliberalism is a capitalist theory of economics and government that holds that a primary role of the state is to create “free markets,” or markets where the transfer of goods and services is not taxed, tariffed, or otherwise limited, to the extent possible. The state creates these markets with a small selection of tools. For instance, states may sell off or license public goods, like state-owned water companies, oil and gas companies, or housing stock, to private companies or individuals. An example of this in The Hidden Globe is Luxembourg’s decision to license its public radio waves to private companies. The state may also create markets through subsidies, tax breaks, tariff reduction or abolition, and/or infrastructure investment to lower the cost of entry for a private company.