What can the history of the New International Economic Order (NIEO) tell us about the possibilities - and limits - of transforming the international economic system?

In this fifth episode of the Vienna Global Forum podcast series, Umut Özsu, professor of law and legal studies at Carleton University, joins the conversation to explore the relationship between international law, decolonization, state sovereignty, and the struggle to reshape the global economic order.

The NIEO emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as developing countries sought to challenge the economic structures inherited from colonialism and to establish a more equitable international economic system. International law became an important arena in this struggle: a space in which newly independent states sought to assert their sovereignty, demand greater control over natural resources, and push for changes to the rules governing the global economy.

But how transformative was the NIEO really? And why did it ultimately fail to bring about the changes its proponents envisioned?

In the conversation, Umut Özsu examines both the internal tensions within the NIEO project and the external opposition it encountered. He discusses the role of the United States and other advanced capitalist countries, the relationship between economic sovereignty and international cooperation, and the limits of relying on international institutions to transform the world economy.

The discussion raises some fundamental questions:

🔹Was the NIEO really as radical as it is sometimes portrayed?
🔹Why did powerful states see the NIEO as a threat?
🔹What role can international law play in transforming the global economy?
🔹How did decolonization shape the struggle for a new international economic order?
🔹Can international institutions such as the United Nations fundamentally change global economic structures?
🔹What tensions existed between national sovereignty and international solidarity?
🔹And what, if anything, can today's movements learn from the NIEO?

Guest: Umut Özsu - Professor of Law and Legal Studies, Carleton University

📍Episode 5 of the Vienna Global Forum podcast series: Lessons from the New International Economic Order

📌 Learn more about the Vienna Global Forum: www.viennaglobalforum.org

Who has power in global finance? Who benefits from it? And why is global financial reform so hard?

The international financial system is changing. Geopolitical tensions are reshaping economic relations, global cooperation is becoming more difficult, and long-standing calls for reform are meeting a fragmented international landscape. But what does this mean for the future of global financial governance - and for the countries that have historically had the least influence over the system?

In the fourth episode of the Vienna Global Forum podcast series, hosts Anamaria Copilau and Heikki Patomäki are joined by Eric Helleiner and Annina Kaltenbrunner to explore the evolution, power structures, and possible future of the global financial order.

The conversation looks back at the ambitions of the New International Economic Order (NIEO) and asks why meaningful reform of international finance has proved so difficult. It examines the role of institutions such as the IMF, the distribution of international liquidity, Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), central bank swap lines, and the ways in which financial power is exercised within the global system.

The discussion also explores the growing fragmentation of the international financial order. As global cooperation becomes more difficult, could regional and South-South initiatives provide new avenues for reform? And can change at the global level still be achieved - or does meaningful transformation have to start from the bottom up?

Among the questions discussed are:

🔹Why is change in global financial governance so slow and incremental?
🔹Who has power over the rules of the international financial system?
🔹Why do countries that need international liquidity most often have the least access to it?
🔹What do SDRs and central bank swap lines reveal about the hierarchy of global finance?
🔹Is geopolitical fragmentation undermining the possibility of global reform?
🔹Can regional cooperation create new spaces for financial autonomy?
🔹What can today's reformers learn from the unfinished agenda of the NIEO?

Guests:
• Annina Kaltenbrunner - Professor of Global Economics, Leeds University Business School
• Eric Helleiner - Professor in Political Science, University of Waterloo

📍Episode 4 of the Vienna Global Forum podcast series: Lessons from the New International Economic Order

📌 Learn more about the Vienna Global Forum: www.viennaglobalforum.org

How can the global trading system become fairer? And what can today's debates learn from the ambitious vision of the New International Economic Order (NIEO)?

In this second episode of the Vienna Global Forum podcast series, hosts Anamaria Copilau and Werner Raza are joined by Richard Kozul-Wright, former Director of the Division on Globalization and Development Strategies at UNCTAD, to explore the history, politics, and future of global trade governance.

The conversation traces the evolution of the post-war trading system - from the failed International Trade Organization (ITO) and the GATT to the WTO - and examines why many countries in the Global South viewed the system as structurally unequal. Together, they revisit the rise of UNCTAD, the ambitions of the NIEO, and the struggle to reshape international trade in the interests of development.

The discussion also addresses some of today's most pressing questions:

🔹Why has structural inequality in global trade persisted?
🔹What role did UNCTAD play in giving the Global South a stronger voice?
🔹Why did the NIEO ultimately lose momentum?
🔹How has neoliberalism reshaped global economic governance?
🔹What reforms are needed to create a more inclusive international trading system?
🔹Should we reform existing institutions - or build new ones?

Drawing on decades of experience in international economic policy, Richard Kozul-Wright reflects on policy space, industrial policy, multilateralism, South–South cooperation, and China's growing role in shaping the future of global governance.

Guest: Richard Kozul-Wright (SOAS University of London; former UNCTAD Director of Globalization and Development Strategies)

📍Episode 2 of the Vienna Global Forum podcast series: Lessons from the New International Economic Order

📌 Learn more about the Vienna Global Forum: www.viennaglobalforum.org