Park-Choi Lecture: Kimberly Hoang

This talk uncovers the complex dynamics of Spiderweb Capitalism and Entangled Economies—the intricate financial networks that quietly shape global power. Through sovereign wealth funds, offshore financial centers, and cross-border networks, elites use spiderweb capitalism to remake economic and political landscapes. Focusing on the U.S., China, and Southeast Asia, the discussion will expose how sovereign wealth funds function as strategic tools of economic influence, reshaping America’s liberal democratic system and redefining the balance of global influence. Illuminating these opaque financial networks, this lecture provides a deeper understanding of global political economies and the entanglements of power, wealth, and influence across borders.

Dr. Hoang will also bring the research process itself into the discussion. Working with a growing database of 236,000 files, this project uses a locally hosted large language model (LLM) to securely parse and analyze the data while ensuring privacy and accuracy. This talk draws our attention to the ethical considerations related to data handling will be discussed, emphasizing the importance of maintaining security when investigating these complex and often clandestine financial systems, analysis that reveals how these entangled economies affect global growth, sovereignty, and the balance of power in today’s interconnected world.