Former SEAC Director Prof. Danny Quah will give an exclusive guest lecture titled "Inadvertent Cooperation in a G-minus World" to LSE students and staff

Former SEAC Director Prof. Danny Quah will be coming back to LSE for an exclusive guest lecture to students and staff at the Department of International Development on his recent paper: "Inadvertent Cooperation in a G-minus World"

Tuesday 2 Dec, 12-1.30, PAR.LG.03 (Limited space so do arrive early!)

What is optimal economic statecraft for Third Nations, i.e., those not frontline in geopolitical rivalry? Many in Southeast Asia see need for such strategies, not least to keep from becoming collateral damage in someone else's conflict. Depending on how much of world order is exogenously given and how much can be elastically shaped by small-state agency, Third Nations can choose to align, acquiesce, or mitigate. This paper describes circumstances where each of these alternatively might be the preferred strategy. Mitigation is historically least considered of the three. Thus, this paper further develops policies of pathfinder multilateralism, in particular inadvertent cooperation, appropriate for mitigation. World order in this case is neither G2 nor G-zero, but G-minus.

Speaker bio

Prof. Danny Quah is Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he served as Dean over 2018-2025. His research interests lie in international economic relations, economic growth and development, and income inequality and social mobility. Quah's current projects analyse the impact of fraying multilateralism on economic growth and social mobility, and the modern practice of economic statecraft. Professor Quah received his BA from Princeton University and his PhD from Harvard University, taught at MIT and then moved to the LSE, where he served over the years as Professor of Economics and International Development, Head of the Department of Economics, and Director of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre before moving to NUS. Among other positions, Quah serves on the World Bank President's Economic Advisory Panel; the World Bank Group Institute for Economic Development's Advisory Board; the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Geopolitics; and Tsinghua University School of Public Policy and Management's Global Advisory Board.