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Law and Political Economy Project

Recovering the Left-Wing Free Trade Tradition

Free trade has been defended primarily by neoliberals who cared little about social justice or democracy. An examination of its history paints a different picture.
Collage depicting shipping containers, a scale weighing American dollars, and a screen of numbers and percentages

Free Trade's Origin Myth

American elites accepted the economic theory of "comparative advantage" mainly because it justified their geopolitical agenda.

Ross Perot, Populist Harbinger

Views that were fringe in Perot’s day had, by the 2016 election, taken center stage.
Trump speaks to auto workers.
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Donald Trump Wants to Take Republicans Back to Their Roots

The GOP was once the party of protectionism, while the Democrats led the way on free trade.
Donald Trump and Theresa May
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Protectionism 100 Years ago Helped Ignite a World War. Could it Happen Again?

Abandoning free trade doesn't just hurt the economy. It threatens peace and stability across the globe.
Ross Perot speaking in front of a banner opposing NAFTA.

End of the End of History, Redux

Remember Perot?

Globalism, Sovereignty, and Resistance

Quinn Slobodian and Jennifer Mittelstadt discuss their research on the meanings of “globalism” and “sovereignty” throughout history.
Collage of American events in the 1990s.

The Nutty Nineties

What was in the water circa 1992?
WTO protestors in 1999.

How Activists Across the Pacific Northwest Planned the 1999 Seattle WTO Protests

Looking back on the environmentalist and anti-globalization movements of the 1990s.
Volunteers at Big Creek Missions in Leslie County, Kentucky

Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood

I’ve been going back to eastern Kentucky for over a decade. Since 2016, something there has changed.
President Bill Clinton signing NAFTA

The Long Shadow of NAFTA

Neither side of the border has seen the benefits it was promised.
Bill Clinton presenting the V-chip, 1996.

Cold Controls

“National security” and the history of US export controls.
Adam Smith.

The Contradictions of Adam Smith

Smith's influence on American politics, and the misunderstanding at the heart of our idea of the "champion of capitalism."
American politicians with supporters and German citizens in the background

1989-2001: America’s Long Lost Weekend

From the fall of the Berlin Wall to 9/11, we had relative peace and prosperity. We squandered it completely.
Cover to Eric Helleiner's "The Neomercantilists: A Global Intellectual History," a Japanese=style screen print depicting men discussing business by a train, with boats in the background.

Developmental Realism

Now is a critical time to acquire a better understanding of this misunderstood and oversimplified philosophy known as Neomercantilism.
Black and white photograph of crowd in China holding pictures of Mao Zedong in celebration.

U.S. Relations With China 1949–2022

U.S.-China relations have evolved from tense standoffs to a complex mix of intensifying diplomacy, growing international rivalry, and increasingly intertwined economies.
Couple kissing at the opening of the Berlin Wall

Has Neoliberalism Really Come to an End?

A conversation with historian Gary Gerstle about understanding neoliberalism as a bipartisan worldview and how the political order it ushered in has crumbled. 
Picture of Richard Nixon from National Archive.

The Day That Richard Nixon Changed U.S. Economic Policy Forever

Fifty years ago, in response to rising inflation, he rejected several long-standing practices. His Keynesian turn holds lessons for today’s economy.
Mitch McConnell
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The Fissure Between Republicans and Business is Less Surprising Than it Seems

Business groups have always worked with both parties to support globalization and free trade.
engraving of a slave ship

Why Did the Slave Trade Survive So Long?

The history of the Atlantic slave trade after the American Revolution is a story of sustained efforts to suppress it even as demand for slaves increased.
American Imperialism

Warfare State

Democrats and Republicans are increasingly united in an anti-China front. But their approaches to U.S. foreign policy diverge.

The Seattle Protests Showed Another World Is Possible

Twenty years ago, demonstrations against the World Trade Organization opened the space for today’s critics of neoliberal capitalism.

The Mind Behind Early American Protectionism

Before free trade became a consensus, Friedrich List argued that U.S. industry should be put first.
Trump looks at border wall construction prototypes.
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The Hole in Donald Trump’s Wall

As long as Americans continue to flood into Mexico, the wall will do little to deter crossings.

Neoliberalism’s World Order

Neoliberalism set out not to demolish the state, but to create an international order strong enough to override democracy in the service of private property.
Donald Trump holding up a bill he signed.
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Ceding Power to the Executive is Backfiring on Free-Trade Advocates

Liberal Democrats sidestepped Congress to bring free trade to the U.S. Now, Trump is able to do the same thing to destroy it.
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The Truth About Trade Wars: Everyone Loses, and the Damage Is Hard To Undo

President Trump is repeating the mistakes of the Great Depression.

Can History Avoid Conspiracy?

Historians still lack a good way to define, discuss, and address historical actions that appear to be "conspiracies."

The Market Police

In neoliberalism, state power is needed to enforce market relations, but the site of that power must be hidden from politics.

Worlds Apart

How neoliberalism shapes the global economy and limits the power of democracies.

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