Wenting He speaks on international economic order at the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP) Study Group conference
Wenting He with the CSCAP Study Group conference cohort
Wenting He, a member of our research team and a PhD Candidate in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs at the Australian National University, was recently invited to speak at the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Study Group conference. The conference took place in Hanoi, Vietnam on 25th and 26th May 2023.
The conference, themed “Rules Based Order: Strengthening Consensus on the Rules and Principles Underpinning International Order,” saw the participation of approximately 30 scholars and security experts from around the Asia Pacific region. This diverse group assembled to discuss the political, security, and economic dimensions of the current international order, its historical evolution and likely future trajectory.
As the trigger speaker for the “International Economic Order” session, Wenting examined where there is disagreement globally over dimensions of the rules and principles underpinning the international economic order, and why controversy has occurred in this domain of order.
Wenting examined the evolution of the Bretton Woods order, its shift towards increasingly liberal values, and the challenges to the current order posed by emerging powers as well as by nationalist and populist movements in established powers such as the United States. Wenting identified two primary points of divergence in the international economic order: issues of legitimacy and equity.
Drawing on her current PhD research on Chinese discourse about the international economic order, Wenting explored how the 2008 Global Financial Crisis undermined perceptions of US economic leadership, and cast doubt over the legitimacy of the existing order. Wenting also highlighted issues of equity within the order, critically addressing the governance structure of the Bretton Woods institutions for their insufficient representation of emerging market economies.
Nevertheless, Wenting pointed out that despite these divergences, the current international economic order does not face a unified opposition intent on dismantling it. Instead, these disagreements are nuanced and targeted at specific aspects of the order which, if addressed, can potentially bolster the order’s resilience.
The CSCAP Study Group conference offered a rich opportunity for Wenting to engage with scholars and experts from around the region, and to discuss both the challenges and sources of resilience within the existing international order.
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