GDP Center Round-Up: Fall 2023 Global Economic Governance Initiative Book Talk Series

By Sayuri Kataoka and Claire Paul

The Fall 2023 Global Economic Governance Book Talk Series convened five distinguished scholars with recent books on topics ranging from Active Non-Alignment in Latin America to the political economy of sovereign debt default and more.

The Global Economic Governance Initiative (GEGI) advances policy-oriented research to align global economic governance with development and climate ambitions and deliver green and inclusive prosperity. To that end, the Book Talk Series provides an opportunity for scholars with recent books in the global economic governance space to present their work and engage in open dialogue with a global audience.

Below, see a summary and recording for each event in the Fall 2023 Global Economic Governance Initiative Book Talk Series:

Latin American Foreign Policies in the New World Order: The Active Non-Alignment Option

Kicking off the series in September, the Boston University Global Development Policy Center (GDP Center) hosted Jorge Heine, Research Professor at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, and Jorge Castañeda, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mexico, to present the main ideas of their book, “Latin American Foreign Policies in the New World Order: The Active Non-Alignment Option.”

In their discussion, Heine and Castañeda explained that Active Non-Alignment is a foreign policy strategy that Latin American countries can use to maximize their growth opportunities in the currently fraught and fragmented geopolitical world. Heine argued that this book provides an answer to one of the great puzzles in contemporary international relations: why are there disparate reactions to Russia’s war in Ukraine from Western countries and the Global South? Active Non-Alignment as it has materialized in Latin America, he says, reflects a prioritization of one country’s interests over those of others. Read the blog summary.

The World that Latin America Created: The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America in the Development Era

Next, Margarita Fajardo, Professor of History at Sarah Lawrence College, joined us to discuss her book, “The World that Latin America Created: The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America in the Development Era.” In the book, Fajardo draws on various personal and institutional archives across Latin America, Europe and the United States to capture how the so-called cepalinos created an intellectual movement that displaced the ideas of more powerful actors from the Global North. Cepalinos were members of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC; or the Spanish and Portugese acronym, CEPAL).

Fajardo highlighted the different ways the book can be read: a history of how governance practices in the Latin American region impacted and influenced the body of knowledge on global governance, a documentation of the public life of these experts and their economic ideas, and an intellectual history of capitalism. She spoke about notable protagonists of the book – including Raúl Prebisch, the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean in the 1950s and 60s – and lessons learned from the cepalino movement for the modern day. Read the blog summary.

Why Not Default?: The Political Economy of Sovereign Debt

In October, Jerome Roos, Fellow in International Political Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, joined GDP Center Director Kevin P. Gallagher to discuss his recent book, “Why Not Default?: The Political Economy of Sovereign Debt.”

The conversation sought to unravel the question of why countries do not default in the face of severe debt crises, even when it means they must sacrifice key public welfare institutions, like public education and healthcare. Roos and Gallagher spoke about the genesis of the research that gave rise to the book, highlighted how modern debt crises can aid understanding of structural power dynamics in the international financial system and what lessons can be learned for challenging enduring power dynamics in the modern geopolitical landscape. Read the blog summary.

The Contested World Economy: The Deep and Global Roots of International Political Economy

In the final installment of the series, the GDP Center hosted Eric Helleiner, Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, to discuss his most recent book, “The Contested World Economy: The Deep and Global Roots of International Political Economy.” 

Helleiner explained that he wrote the book because he found a lack of resources for students to expand their learning beyond the post-1945 Western scholars and theories of international political economy. He underscored an over-saturation of neomercantilism, Marxism and liberalism when, in reality, many other perspectives – including environmental, feminist and tributary theory – were also present. Helleiner argued that understanding these theories, particularly for students, can provide unique perspectives to contemporary challenges faced by the international community. Read the blog summary.

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