Call for papers: Economic Diplomacy and Emerging Economies

A special issue  of International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy

The world is going through a demanding period of development. Looking back not too far into the past, it could be said that it all began with the end of Cold War and the boost of globalisation at the beginning of the 1990s. It seemed as if everything was on the up and that there were no limits to growth. Many used to say that “the sky is the limit", especially brokers. As a result, only a few people noticed the economic downturn at the beginning of the millennium in 2001, when we recorded gross world product (GWP) growth of "only" 1.6% (in 2000, GWP growth was almost 4.3%)

Economic downturns and recessions are actually nothing special, since they come around almost every 10 years. If we look at the statistics, it is clear that there have been recessions in the mid-1970s, at the beginning of the 1980s, at the beginning of the 1990s and around 2000, so the same was bound to happen around 2010. We can say that we have had a crisis almost every 10 years. It is just that economic memories are often short, which is one reason, perhaps, why financial crises and bubbles tend to recur with such frequency.

 Despite these facts, the majority of companies, citizens, countries and even regional organisations such as the EU were unprepared for the new global crisis that began in 2008. The difference with the current crisis was its magnitude and level of synchronisation: this was not just a regional event, as was the case with the Asian financial downturn of the late 1990s, but rather a crisis that was global in nature – at least at the outset. The numbers were striking. According to the IMF, the global economy contracted by 2.3% in 2009 – an unprecedented fall in the post-war era. In the OECD area, the economy contracted by 4.7% between the first quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009. A plunge in global trade was another sign of the seriousness of the crisis. According to WTO data, the volume of global trade in goods and services fell by 12% in 2009.

 Moving to 2012, it could be said that it appears as if the crisis is far from over in some countries, since they are still struggling with high unemployment, a lack of available credit and poor economic growth. This is particularly the case for the eurozone (especially Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain and Cyprus). It seems as if the domino effect is continuing as a result of a lack of information on potential troubles in Italy and some other members of the eurozone. On the other hand, good or even extraordinary growth can be witnessed in some parts of the word (emerging economies), with no signs of trouble whatsoever. Some say, “If you are not there, you have lost the path"

 We have recently had the opportunity to examine numerous meetings of state officials, even heads of state travelling between developed and emerging economies accompanied by large and powerful business delegations, discussing business partnerships and cooperation. It was probably the first time in modern history that world leaders had been involved in global business decisions on such a scale (discussing which banks will/should be helped, which country/company would receive additional loans, bailouts, etc.). Economic issues also featured high on the agenda in multilateral institutions

 As economic power shifts from one part of the world (developed) to the other (emerging), we are interested in observing the role played by economic diplomacy in this phenomenon. This topic is the focus of this special issue.

Theoretical, research, case study and also ‘more practical’ papers are welcome. Suitable topics include but are not limited to:

• The role of economic diplomacy in international and multilateral organisations from the view of emerging economies
• Diplomacy and credit rating agencies
• Economic diplomacy from the perspective of emerging economies
• Economic diplomacy and the role of heads of state
• Bipolar world (parts of the world with economic growth and the ones in recession) and the role of economic diplomacy in this frame
• Export support activities of emerging economies
• Emerging economies and FDIs
• Development diplomacy

Important Dates
Submission of one page abstracts by email (max. 500 words): 15 September, 2012
Notification of acceptance of abstracts: 1 October, 2012
Submission (online) of full papers following acceptance of abstracts: 1 February, 2013
Notification of acceptance, refusal or revision of full papers: 1 March, 2013
Submission of accepted and revisited final papers: 1 April, 2013