Introduction "The path of civilization is paved with tin cans": The political economy of the global tin industry

Citation

Storli E, Perchard A & Ingulstad M (2014) Introduction "The path of civilization is paved with tin cans": The political economy of the global tin industry. In: Ingulstad M, Perchard A & Storli E (eds.) Tin and Global Capitalism: A History of the Devil's Metal 1850-2000. 1st ed. New York: Routledge, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781317816157

Abstract
The aim of this volume is to use tin, the Devil’s metal, as a prism to investigate how the modern international economy was created from the end of the nineteenth century and onwards. Just as tin in alloys interacts with other metals to enhance and boost the existing qualities of materials, the history of tin can enhance our understanding of a host of larger political, social, and economic issues. This book takes as its conceptual starting point key debates concerning economic globalization from international business history, supplemented by insights from the fields of international political economy and the history of international relations, and addresses itself to the points at which these intersect. The study of metals offers valuable insights into the global and local forces that historically affected the international economy and geopolitics, as well as society at large. This volume is thus not merely concerned with the history of the tin industry per se, but uses this industry to investigate key facets of the development of the modern world.