Attempts at re-regulating global trade and finance in the wake of the most recent round of economic crises have tended to focus on compromise. The pre-crisis era was one of extremes: deregulatory dogma, excess credit, and overheated markets. Governance responses, particularly in Europe, have sought to bring some restraint back to global economics: reformed institutions, more stringent leverage ratios, and an emphasis on macroprudential policymaking. Although neoliberalism is certainly alive and well, policy elites have, at least in part, recognised the need for some sort of new governance compromise: a new compromise between growth and stability, credit access and credit quality, international and domestic concerns, free trade and protectionism, opening markets and reciprocity, and even capital and labour.

As we now enter the sixth year of the most recent economic crisis, the regulatory response has a clear footprint to investigate the successes and failures of attempts at new compromise and Europe’s role in that process. Marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Bretton Woods system, this workshop takes on the principle of compromise in the global economy as a central tension to be engaged. It explores the theory and practice of efforts to reregulate the global political economy, drawing together related strands of academic research including, but not limited to: economic diplomacy, global trade and financial governance, international regulation, and the power and performance of Europe, the US and other emerging powers in addressing the global economic crisis.

This workshop will ask whether a new embedded liberal compromise is possible and/or desirable? Who is doing the compromising in the global economy and what role might Europe play in new attempts at resolving the tensions of global reordering? Whose voice is excluded and what possibilities are being foreclosed by the politics of compromise? The workshop will bring together key thinkers in global economic governance, regulation and economic diplomacy to debate these fundamental issues and to explore the place of compromise and dissensus in the current period of global economic reordering.

The workshop is comprised of four working panels aimed at addressing four major themes, including:

• Panel (1) conceptualising different disciplinary and theoretical approaches to the study and analysis of global economic governance, crises, and the principle of compromise,
• Panel (2) showcasing empirical research and case studies addressing global economic regulatory and governance efforts,
• Panel (3) focusing explicitly on Europe’s Regulatory Role, and
• Panel (4) addressing broader issues of Global Reordering in light of the 70th anniversary of the Bretton Woods system.

DATE: 17-18 March 2014

VENUE: Scarman House, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL

ORGANISERS: Dr Chris Clarke and Dr Megan Dee, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick

CONTACT: m dot dee at warwick dot ac dot uk | c dot d dot clarke at warwick dot ac dot uk

The workshop programme is available here

Participation in this workshop is by invitation only, please direct all enquiries to Dr Clarke or Dr Dee on the contact details above