Book launch: GATT and Global Order in the Postwar Era

Professor Francine McKenzie will discuss her new book GATT and Global Order in the Postwar Era which reveals the history of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and unpacks the many ways in which trade was politicised in the second half of the 20th century.

Co-hosted by the Centre for Grand Strategy and Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War.

Speaker: Professor Francine McKenzie

Co-Chairs: Professor Joe Maiolo and Dr Andrew Ehrhardt

After the Second World War, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) promoted trade liberalisation to help make the world prosperous and peaceful. Francine McKenzie uses case studies of the Cold War, the creation of the EEC and other regional trade agreements, development, and agriculture, to show that trade is a primary goal of foreign policy, a dominant (and divisive) aspect of international relations, and a vital component of global order.

She reveals the many ways in which trade was politicised, and the layers of meaning associated with trade; trade policies, as well as disputes about trade, communicated ideas, hopes and fears that were linked to larger questions of identity, sovereignty, and status. This study reveals how the economic and political dimensions of foreign policy and international engagement intersected, showing that trade was not only instrumentalised in the service of particular policies or relations but that it was also an essential aspect of international relations.

Professor Francine McKenzie is Chair of the Department of History at the University of Ohio. She is an international historian interested in international organizations, 20th century global trade, the British Commonwealth, Canada’s engagement in world affairs, and global order.