DANGEROUS RIVALRIES – From the Conquest of the New World to Cyberspace

  • A captivating overview of economic and trade wars from the start of globalization to today’s connected world.
  • Rights for his previous title were sold to China (Ginkgo).

Discover how economic rivalries shape today’s global conflicts!

The end of the existing world order is evident not only in increasing wars and escalations but also in intensifying trade conflicts – most dramatically and extensively between China and the USA, and more recently with Russia. In a compelling panorama, Werner Plumpe illustrates how history has always been shaped by economic rivalries, often leading to open conflict – from the conquest of the New World and the beginnings of globalization to the age of colonialism, the rise of nation-states, and the bipolar world of the Cold War, up to today’s hyper-connected world. Whether it is gold, oil, cotton, cocoa, or grain: the search for lucrative resources spans centuries, revealing how economic interests intertwine with issues of national identity, cultural ideas, and power strategies. 

"The most important German economic historian." Die Zeit

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  • Publisher: Rowohlt Berlin
  • Release: 13.05.2025
  • ISBN: 978-3-7371-0216-2
  • 320 Pages
  • Author: Werner Plumpe

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DANGEROUS RIVALRIES – From the Conquest of the New World to Cyberspace
Werner Plumpe DANGEROUS RIVALRIES – From the Conquest of the New World to Cyberspace
Dawin Meckel/OSTKREUZ
© Dawin Meckel/OSTKREUZ
Werner Plumpe

Werner Plumpe , born in 1954 in Bielefeld, is an emeritus professor of economics and social history at the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University in Frankfurt. He was chairman of the German Association of Historians until 2012. In 2010, Wirtschaftskrisen. Geschichte und Gegenwart was published, followed by Wie wir reich wurden  in 2012, Die Große Depression in 2014, and Das kalte Herz  in 2019. Werner Plumpe also received the 2014 Ludwig Erhard Prize awarded for writing on economic issues.