Nissan Symposium: From Economic Security to Economic Statecraft: Insights from Japan, Europe, and the United States

Convener(s): Kristi Govella

This symposium brings together leading experts on economic security and economic statecraft to share views on how debates and policies on these issues are evolving in different regions of the world. Over the past decade, economic relations have become highly politicized—and in some cases, securitized—due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the rise of economic coercion, and the return of trade war. Governments have become acutely aware of the vulnerabilities associated with interdependence and attempted to bolster their economic resilience through both domestic measures and international cooperation. At the same time, many governments have also attempted to wield economic statecraft, both as “sticks” to punish other countries through sanctions, tariffs, and export controls, as well as “carrots” to entice cooperation through promises of aid, trade, and investment. However, despite increasing academic debate and policymaking related to economic security and economic statecraft, there is no agreement about the definitions of these terms and little consideration of how they relate to one another. Therefore, the time is ripe for deeper discussion of these issues and consideration of what insights might be drawn from the Japanese, European, and American experiences, as well as how these countries might more effectively work together.

Register and view detailed schedule and speaker information.

Schedule Overview

9:30 am: Registration Begins

10:00 am: Welcome Remarks

10:10 am: Constructive and Coercive Approaches to Economic Statecraft: Japan, China, Europe, and the United States 

Speakers: Francesca Ghiretti (RAND Europe), Kristi Govella (University of Oxford), Akira Igata (University of Tokyo), Abraham Newman (Georgetown University), William Norris (Texas A&M University)

11:25 am: Coffee Break

11:45 am: Defensive Economic Security? Resilience Initiatives, Export Controls, and Anti-Coercion Measures

Speakers: Douglas Fuller (Copenhagen Business School), Tobias Gehrke (European Council on Foreign Relations), Claas Mertens (University of Oxford), Minako Morita-Jaeger (University of Sussex), Shino Watanabe (Sophia University)

1:00 pm: Lunch for Registered Participants

2:00 pm: Economic Security as Technology, Innovation, and Industrial Policy 

Speakers: Aya Adachi (German Council on Foreign Relations), Raluca Csernatoni (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), Robyn Klingler-Vidra (King’s College London), Martijn Rasser (Special Competitive Studies Project), Hugh Whittaker (University of Oxford)

3:15 pm: Coffee Break

3:45 pm: The Role of the Private Sector in Economic Security and Economic Statecraft 

Speakers: Mariko Togashi (Institute of Geoeconomics), Anna Vlasiuk Nibe (University of Southern Denmark), Yeling Tan (University of Oxford), Jiakun Jack Zhang (University of Kansas)

4:45 pm: Break

5:00 pm: Cooperation in a World of Economic Nationalism

Speakers: Michael Beeman (University of California, San Diego), Creon Butler (Chatham House), Victor Cha (Georgetown University), Kristi Govella (University of Oxford), Keisuke Iida (University of Tokyo), Miguel Otero-Iglesias (Elcano Royal Institute and IE University)

6:30 pm: Public Reception

This symposium is co-convened by the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies and the Blavatnik School of Government.