Multilateralism

This project examines how and why dairy systems in place in four countries and one region remain critical factors in question at the World Trade Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The project will also explore difficult stumbling blocks for Canada, influencing trade negotiations like the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Canada-EU) and the Trans Pacific Partnership. Researchers will attempt to answer the following questions: Why is dairy so important, given its relative economic insignificance in international talks? How is each dairy system configured, and how does this configuration shape the politics and international negotiating strategies of countries when it comes to their willingness to engage in international dairy tariff and quota cutting exercises?

During the European debt crisis, the IMF departed from the framework that had been established to govern its role in large bailouts. Specifically, a key condition for the IMF lending—a judgment, based on rigorous analysis, that the supported program of policies and other financing would put the receiving country’s debt on a sustainable path—was effectively eliminated. This change allowed the lending arrangements to go ahead despite widespread views that debt burdens of the crisis-stricken countries were unsustainable. The practical upshot of this change is highly controversial: did it save the euro area from undue economic stress of an early restructuring (at least of Greek debt) or did it simply delay an inevitable restructuring with consequent costs to taxpayers, the recovery in Europe, and the health of the global economy?

Researchers are investigating the relationships among global governance, international organizations, and development aid practices in the context of assisting displaced populations.