Adam Dean (George Washington University) joins the GLOBE Webinar Series to discuss his new book 'Opening Up By Cracking Down: Labor Repression and Trade Liberalization in Democratic Developing Countries' (Cambridge University Press 2022). A discussant will then offer some reflections before an audience Q&A.

About the book: How did democratic developing countries open their economies during the late-twentieth century? Since labor unions opposed free trade, democratic governments often used labor repression to ease the process of trade liberalization. Some democracies brazenly jailed union leaders and used police brutality to break the strikes that unions launched against such reforms. Others weakened labor union opposition through subtler tactics, such as banning strikes and retaliating against striking workers. Either way, this book argues that democratic developing countries were more likely to open their economies if they violated labor rights. Opening Up By Cracking Down draws on fieldwork interviews and archival research on Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, Turkey, and India, as well as quantitative analysis of data from over one hundred developing countries to places labor unions and labor repression at the heart of the debate over democracy and trade liberalization in developing countries.

About the author: Adam Dean is Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University. His research focuses on the political economy of international trade, labor politics, American Political Development, and the socioeconomic determinant of public health.

Moderator: Kari Otteburn

The GLOBE Webinar Series – The Future of Global Governance – presents the latest and most cutting-edge research in global governance and gives audience members the opportunity to directly engage with leading scholars in the field. Each webinar focuses on a significant new book that has potential to shape future thought on global governance, featuring a presentation by the author, an intervention from an expert discussant, and a Q&A session with the audience.

Participation is free and the webinar can be joined from anywhere in the world. Access the GLOBE Webinar Channel and check the featured videos for the past webinars