Symbiosis of the military and military-industrial complex with the US economy and geopolitics

How security strategy shapes markets, innovation, and employment

Abstract

Throughout this article, we examine the fundamental role of United States military power as a structural component of its global hegemony—not only in strategic and geopolitical terms, but also as an essential pillar of its national economy. The analysis draws on recent data and methodological tools such as network analysis and graphical representations, which clearly illustrate how the U.S. military apparatus, as the world’s leading power, occupies a dominant position vis-à-vis rival powers such as China and Russia. Moreover, the chapter identifies as priorities several strategic trade routes that the United States protects through its military deployments: the Strait of Malacca, the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the English Channel—arteries essential to global trade and energy security.