It is often said economics has become more important than ever in today’s international relations, yet we work with much less than full understanding of what goes on when government negotiators bargain over trade, finance, data, labor, state-owned enterprises, services sector, agriculture, intellectual property rights, e-commerce, fisheries subsidy and the rules-making in free trade agreements and investment treaties. The process of trade and economic negotiation shapes the world political economy. This essential process can be better understood and practiced with the role-playing simulations of the ongoing trade and economic negotiations. The purpose of this course is to explore the challenges confronting international trade and economic policies, as well as to consider current negotiations designed to address these circumstances. The approach will be interdisciplinary and will focus on political, economic, and legal considerations.

What happens in these negotiations? What determines their outcomes? Could the negotiators do better? This seminar concentrates on this ubiquitous process of international negotiation over trade and economic issues and helps students launch original research on this subject. This course is designed to help improve your skill as a negotiator, while you learn more about bargaining theory in the context of global political economy. It offers a conceptual framework to help you diagnose most bargaining situations. It begins simply and adds complications one at a time. You will practice applying these ideas through in-class role-playing simulations on real-world trade and economic negotiations.