Harvard research fellow and former central banker Paul Tucker will present his views about how the international security, economic and legal system can survive today’s fractured geopolitics.

As outlined in his new book, democracies are facing a drawn-out contest with authoritarian states entangling much of public policy with global security issues. He will lay out some principles for a sustainable system of international cooperation, showing how democracies can deal with China and other illiberal states without sacrificing their deepest political values. Examples will be drawn from the international monetary order, including the role of the US dollar, trade and investment regimes, and the financial system. The approach takes its inspiration from David Hume rather than the standard International Relations menu of Hobbes, Kant, or Grotius, so that each of power, norms and material interests matter. After his opening remarks, our panel will engage in a discussion with Paul and each other, and questions from the audience.

Meet our speakers and chair

Paul Tucker is a Research Fellow of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is the author of Unelected Power: The Quest for Legitimacy in Central Banking and the Regulatory State and most recently Global Discord: Values and Power in a Fractured World Order. His other current activities include being a senior fellow at the Harvard’s Center for European Studies, and President of the UK’s National Institute for Economic and Social Research. For over thirty years, Tucker was a central banker until 2014, at the Bank of England and chairing a number of international groups.

John Bew is Professor of History and Foreign Policy, King’s College London; and Foreign Policy Advisor to the UK Prime Minister.

Stephanie J Rickard (@SJRickard) is a Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of politics and international economics. For over fifteen years, she has researched issues related to the international political economy, including trade agreements and international financial rescues. In her award-winning book, Spending to Win, Rickard investigates how economic geography influences countries' economic policies and international economic relations. Rickard comments on current events in the global economy for various media outlets including the BBC and Bloomberg.

Peter Wilson is Associate Professor of International Relations in the Department of International Relations at LSE. He is the author, co-author and editor of four books and has published widely in collaborative volumes and international journals. His volume Thinkers of the Twenty Years’ Crisis: Inter-War Idealism Reassessed, which he edited with David Long for Oxford University Press in 1995, is now seen as a landmark study in the history of international thought.

Paul Kelly (@PjThinker) is Professor of Political Theory and current of Head of the Department of Government. He is a former Pro-Director and has taught at LSE since 1995. He has published on many issues in political theory, British political thought. and the history of political philosophy. He is the author and editor of nineteen books. His most recent book is Conflict, War and Revolution and he is completing a book entitled Against Post Liberalism for Polity Press.

More about this event

This event forms part of LSE’s Understanding the UK Economy series, showcasing research and expertise on the state of the UK economy, its global context and its future.

The event is supported by the Mouradian Foundation.

The Department of Economics (@LSEEcon) at LSE is one of the largest economics departments in the world. Its size ensures that all areas of economics are strongly represented in both research and teaching.

You can order the book Global Discord: values and power in a fractured world order (UK delivery only) from our official LSE Events independent book shop, Pages of Hackney.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEUKEconomy

Podcast

A podcast of this event is available to download from Global Discord: values and power in a fractured world order.

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.