Ngaire Woods
Says More…
This week, Project Syndicate catches up with Ngaire Woods, Founding Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government and Professor of Global Economic Governance at University of Oxford.
Project Syndicate: Early this year, you warned that, since the Brexit referendum, global economic conditions have become far more hostile to a “plucky country wanting to set out on its own.” A no-deal Brexit, in particular, has become “even riskier.” Given British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s apparent determination to leave the European Union by the October 31 deadline, and his suspension of Parliament, could it still happen?
Ngaire Woods: The UK Parliament has a long history of inventiveness and resistance to abuses of executive power. The current situation is no exception. A new law requires Johnson to request an extension until January, unless Parliament approves a deal with the European Union by October 19. He says he would “rather be dead in a ditch.” With a court having already ruled that Johnson’s suspension of Parliament was unlawful, MPs are now preparing to take legal action if he does not comply with the new law. In short, the battle over Brexit appears set to shift to the courts.
Meanwhile, some of the conditions under which Britain plans to “go it alone” are getting ever trickier. New trade deals with international partners will take time to settle, and even after they are concluded, they cannot stand in for Europe. For example, the United Kingdom’s total trade with Australia, Canada, India, and New Zealand is less than its trade with just one small European partner, the Netherlands.
Woods recommends
We ask all our Say More contributors to tell our readers about a few books that have impressed them recently. Here are Woods's picks:
-
Rise of the Nazis
At a time when minority rights and constitutional protections are under attack in so many places, it is crucial to understand how a government with constitutional rules and functioning courts could fall.
-
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
by Bryan Stephenson
Stephenson’s book offers insight into what it takes for societies to create and apply laws fairly. It is a must-read not only for every American policymaker, lawyer, judge, and police officer, but also for people around the world.
-
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion
by Jonathan Haidt
At a deeply polarized time, Haidt helps us to understand those with whom we strongly disagree in our own community.
From the PS Archive
From 2017
As the world’s financial leaders gathered for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings two years ago, Woods argued that by repeatedly making the case for globalization without addressing ordinary people’s concerns, elites may be doing more harm than good. Read the commentary.
From 2018
Last year, Woods argued that if the old guard is ever to wrest back control from the political upstarts, it’s time to stop complaining about populists and follow their lead instead. Watch the video.
Around the web
Woods answers questions about the new globalization, arguing that it is increasingly “sustained by empires.” Read the interview.
Woods explains why a second Brexit referendum is essential. Read the commentary.
At this year’s World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Woods and Kishore Mahbubani consider the question of whether the West’s power and stability has reached a tipping point. Watch the video.