Economic Globalization and Governance

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As teachers, we traditionally strive for political neutrality, aware that we should not take advantage of a captive audience or create unnecessary impediments to our students’ learning process. As scholars, we traditionally pride ourselves on our nonpartisan rigor in the face of normative controversies, and our intellectual objectivity in the face of alternative interpretations of legal texts. But these are not “traditional” times.

Over the past decade we’ve seen the election of a post neo-liberal, populist billionaire as President in the United States, the Brexit vote in the UK, continued terrorist attacks throughout the world, and the deterioration of democracy in varied places including Turkey, Venezuela, Poland and Hungary. These events, and environmental, economic and political upheavals elsewhere, are frustrating democratic, human rights and economic fairness aspirations in many nations around the globe. Such crises not only reveal and embody values that many of us reject, they also seem to challenge the premises of rational discourse and individual freedom on which our commitment to academic neutrality, objectivity and global interchange depend.

This panel will open commentary and debate on how these developments affect our choices and strategies as intellectuals, scholars and advocates committed to greater justice.

Business meeting at program conclusion.