Patrick Chung, "Standardizing Empire: The US Military, Korea, and the Origins of Military-Industrial Capitalism" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2026)

About this episode

Dr. Patrick Chung discusses his book on the economic implications of the US military's presence in South Korea during the Cold War.

Standardizing Empire: The US Military, Korea, and the Origins of Military-Industrial Capitalism (U Pennsylvania Press, 2026) by Dr. Patrick Chung traces the origins of today’s United States-led capitalist world economy. The nation’s foreign policy during the Cold War saw two unprecedented developments: the continuous global deployment of US soldiers and the creation of a permanent worldwide military base network. In the process, the US military came to control the flow of billions of dollars, large-scale construction projects at home and abroad, the purchase of countless goods and services, and the employment of millions of soldiers and workers. In other words, the Cold War US military became the world’s leading economic actor.To illuminate the political and economic consequences of the US military’s globalization, Dr. Chung focuses on its activities in South Korea between the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Chung shows how the Korean War and the subsequent militarization of South Korea became an important site for the spread of a new economic system, which he calls military-industrial capitalism. Sustained by providing the infrastructure and materials for the US military’s…

People in this episode

Guest: Patrick Chung

Topics covered

• military-industrial capitalism
• US military
• Cold War
• South Korea
• economic systems
• globalization

Keywords

• US military
• Korea
• Cold War
• military-industrial capitalism
• globalization
• economic systems
• construction projects
• foreign policy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: U Pennsylvania Press

Books & works: Standardizing Empire: The US Military, Korea, and the Origins of Military-Industrial Capitalism

Places: South Korea

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