ABSTRACT

The New Economic Diplomacy explains how states conduct their external economic relations in the 21st century: how they make decisions domestically, how they negotiate internationally and how these processes interact. Although the previous edition, published in 2011, was able to reflect the impact of the financial crisis and the immediate reaction to it, a lot has happened since then, and the atmosphere of economic diplomacy has darkened.

To capture the emergence of new trends and the intensification of old ones, the salient features of this new edition are:

  • The advance of China and other emerging powers at the expense of G7 governments, despite some setbacks;
  • Much greater activity in negotiating regional and plurilateral trade agreements, while the multilateral system struggles;
  • The persistence of problems exposed by the financial crisis, notably the long-running euro-zone crisis.
  • The interaction between domestic and external forces: the balance has shifted towards the domestic axis, with international agreement more difficult to achieve. This edition goes further in comparing the practice of different players, to reflect the greater diversity of economic diplomacy.

Based on the authors' work in the field of International Political Economy, it is suitable for students interested in the decision-making processes in foreign economic policy, including those studying international relations, government, politics and economics. It will also appeal to politicians, bureaucrats, business people, NGO activists, journalists and the informed public.