Discovering International Economic Thinkers

• Department of History

This workshop is part of an ERC-funded project devoted to the history of 20th century international economic thinking hatched in the landscapes of multilateral organisations.

This workshop seeks to explore the roles and ideas of international economic thinkers, especially the women among them, who made unique contributions in these international settings to the struggles over the path of globalisation.

The category of international economic thinkers , actors who have not yet attracted systematic attention in the study of 20th century globalisation, includes better-known, ‘mid-level’ and ‘non-intellectual’ economic thinkers. Their work extends across a range of ‘distributional imaginaries’ and conceptions of international economic integration. International economic thinking therefore includes economic policy and economic problems broadly defined, including labour, social policy, welfare, and development. The workshop emphasizes thinking that takes place in or with intergovernmental organizations and international non-government organizations.

By focusing on these actors and ideas, our aim is to shift the discussion about 20th century economic globalisation and capitalism. Among the questions we want to ask are: Who are the international economic thinkers, what are their ideas, and how did these ideas move throughout international sites? What does the study of international economic thinkers tell us about the nature and role of international organisations as distinct sites of negotiations of imaginaries of global economic integration? How useful is the concept of international economic thinkers in opening new investigative paths into the history of globalisation and/or capitalism?