Negotiating the World Economy

It is often said economics has become as important as security in international relations, yet we work with much less than full understanding of what goes on when government negotiators bargain over trade, finance, and the rules of international...

John S. Odell is former editor of International Organization and a professor in the School of International Relations at the University of Southern California. His most recent book, edited with Thomas D. Willett, is International Trade Policies: Gains from Exchange between Economics and Political Science.

With this book, John Odell confirms his place as one of the most eminent scholars of international political economy at work today. There is much to learn from this nuanced and clearly conceived study about the often black box of economic negotiation.... This work, drawing on twenty-five years of first-rate scholarship, should be read by all graduate students, scholars, and more reflective practitioners who want to develop understanding of the processes that give rise to the often unexpected outcomes of international economic negotiation.

It has the merit to illuminate the key elements which any negotiator or scholar should consider and to help us to understand basic relations among them. As such, it should definitely contribute to a better knowledge and practice of international negotiation.

Glen S. Fukushima, President, Arthur D. Little (Japan), Inc.; President, American Chamber of Commerce in Japan; and former U.S. trade negotiator:

John Odell has written a pathbreaking book—a theoretically sophisticated and practically useful analysis of international economic negotiations that is firmly grounded in empirical research on concrete case studies. His insights are refreshing, and the lessons he derives invaluable. This book should be required reading for all global negotiators, whether in government, business, or non-profit organizations.