Economic diplomacy beyond 2010 : geo-economic challenges of globalization and economic security

A total of roughly thirty-five scholars and practitioners from Europe, North-America, and Asia gathered for a two-days of discussion. Seven closed sessions -consisting of two/three speakers and a discussant, followed by plenary debate- were followed by a public afternoon session with a speech of the Dutch Foreign Minister of Trade, a summary of the conference findings and a keynote speech. The different backgrounds of the participants (including economics, international relations, diplomacy and history) provided for a stimulating diversity of views on the subject. The following issues were addressed in the various sessions: theory, logic and practice of economic diplomacy (politics of sending and target states, the case of the EU, historical patterns, and conceptualization); costs and benefits of economic diplomacy (effect of diplomacy and trade and evaluations of internationalization policies); international security (trade effects on interstate conflicts and 'liberal peace'); best practices (Japan and China); economic diplomacy in practice (the Dutch experience, engaging the private sector, and development aid). The conference was held under the Chatham House Rule, and therefore key points in this report are not attributed to any particular person