The international institutions that have governed global trade since the end of World War II have lost their effectiveness. Global trade governance is fractured. The need for new institutions is obvious and, yet, few proposals seem to be on offer. The stubborn problem of the inequality gap between the developing nations and the nations of the first world remains a centerpiece of the international agenda. Current battles over trade policy are both intense and serious, for a great deal is at stake. The way to break out of the endless debates between the advocates of free trade and their critics is to move beyond the terms of the current discourse. To do so requires an understanding of why the current trade order was successful in fulfilling its role in international relations for as long as it did and why it is in need of a transformation to retain currency and effectiveness. This book will answer these two questions and more.

In this book, we present fresh proposals for tackling the issues presented by global trade. We argue that neither politics nor economics alone hold the key to unlocking solutions to the problems presented by global trade. Global trade is not principally a matter of economics.