The Hidden Globe

Abrahamian describes how her childhood in Geneva, Switzerland, made her interested in places that are “placeless,” where what are thought of as traditional nation-state laws and institutions do not operate. She gives several examples of this, such as the Geneva Freeport, a warehouse that “operated outside Swiss customs regulations” (2) where the wealthy store valuables to avoid taxes. Abrahamian argues that such “placeless” places are central to the functioning of the global economy. The Hidden Globe is about these “spaces defined by surprising or unconventional jurisdiction” (3).

Abrahamian puts this offshore, obscure global network in the contemporary political context of the rise of nationalism around the world, as seen in the elections of Donald Trump (the US), Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil), Narendra Modi (India), and others. Overtly, nationalists claim they are going to end globalization. However, privately, they depend on the international global economy to maintain their wealth, as seen for example in billionaire Peter Thiel’s purchase of New Zealand citizenship despite his American nationalist rhetoric. Abrahamian argues that this seeming contradiction shows that the purpose of the global system of special jurisdictions is “to reconcile closed borders with the capitalist maxim of free trade” (5).