While multinational corporations and many rich Western countries have thrived, developing nations and emerging economies have failed to reap the same benefits. Is it possible to develop fairer global trade structures, and could this reduce the need for humanitarian aid?
Soaring aid needs in economies weakened by global shocks like the pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the climate crisis have been driving calls for change. But what alternatives are there to the current global trade architecture?
Suggestions to change the international trading rules are more often than not ignored, but there are alternative structures, like the creation of new regional trading blocs, that might protect the most vulnerable and marginalised people and communities.
To explore those alternatives on this episode of Rethinking Humanitarianism, host Heba Aly is joined by Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now; and Gyude Moore, former Liberian minister, and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.