This event is open to the BSIA and CIGI community, including all UW and Laurier faculty and students.
Analysts often describe Trump’s approach to foreign economic policy as a neomercantilist one, but the neomercantilist intellectual tradition is very diverse, with many distinctive strands. To which strand have Trump’s ideas been compared? How convincing are these comparisons, or is it better to see Trumpian neomercantilism as sui generis? More generally, how useful is the history of neomercantilism for interpreting Trump’s foreign economic policy? In this talk, Eric Helleiner explores these questions.
About the Speaker
Eric Helleiner is University Research Chair and Professor in the Department of Political Science and Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo. He received a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Toronto, and a M.Sc. and Ph.D. from the Department of International Relations of the London School of Economics. He specializes in international political economy and has published 7 sole-authored books, 6 co-edited books, and over 100 articles and chapters. His most recent books include: The Contested World Economy: The Deep and Global Roots of International Political Economy (Cambridge, 2023) and The Neomercantilists: A Global Intellectual History (Cornell, 2021). He received the 2020 IPE Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Studies Association and his books have won prizes such as the International Political Economy Best Book Award, CPSA Prize in International Relations, the Donner Book Prize, and the Francesco Guicciardini Prize for Best Book in Historical International Relations. He is currently co-editor of the book series Cornell Studies in Money and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.
