Marta Dassù warns of US-China economic warfare and global un-order

In their new book, ‘L’età della prepotenza, Perché i nuovi imperi sono destinati a fallire’, Marta Dassù and Edoardo Campanella argue that the era of ‘flat markets’ globalization has ended. The authors suggest that the United States and China are increasingly utilizing their economic levers as weapons, shifting the global landscape toward a primary competition over technology.

Dassù posits that this rivalry will not result in a new imperial balance or a simple collision of powers. Instead, she predicts a period of ‘un-order’—a fragmented multipolarity where shared international rules lose influence. In this new environment, power is expected to distribute among nation-states, middle powers, and private actors, specifically big tech companies.