Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Open democracies: how labor repression facilitates trade liberalization; 2. Trade liberalization around the world: cross-national quantitative tests; 3. Democracy is not enough: labor rights and trade policy in Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Turkey, and India; 4. India's middle path: preventive arrests and general strikes; 5. Opening Argentina: Menem's repression of the CGT; 6. Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography.

Promotional Information

Details how democratic developing countries used labor repression to overcome labor union opposition to free trade.

About the Author

Adam Dean is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University. His first book, From Conflict to Coalition (Cambridge University Press, 2016), was a finalist for the J. David Greenstone Book Prize.

Reviews

'Adam Dean's powerful book on trade liberalization by democratic developing countries reveals that labor repression is what both enables open economies and weakens democracy. His is a masterful and compelling piece of work that enriches our understanding of development, democracy, and labor unions.' Margaret Levi, Stanford University

'Developing economies became more open to international trade during the last three decades, as the number of democracies in the developing world increased. Adam Dean's fascinating book significantly enhances our understanding of trade politics by revealing that democratic governments were more likely to liberalize their trade regimes when they repressed labor rights.' Dani Rodrik, Harvard University

'Adam Dean's path-breaking work reveals how repressive government tactics against labor unions and workers were a key element of the path to trade liberalization. Bold, innovative, and full of lively prose, this book provides a blueprint for how to study the political dynamics underlying today's global economy.' Kathleen McNamara, Georgetown University

'In Opening Up by Cracking Down, Adam Dean proves that no serious student of international political economy can neglect the crucial role of labor unions – and, even more, of democratic governments' repression of unions – in setting trade policy in new democracies.' Ron Rogowski, University of California, Los Angeles