Ed Steinfeld, an associate professor of political science at MIT, discussed how China cooperates with international institutions that set the “rules” for global governance. He argued that frequent allegations about China not abiding by the rules of “fair play” that bind the world’s most advanced economies have little or no ground. Steinfeld explained that in many ways China has surged ahead and sustained its unprecedented economic growth thanks to the adoption of global rules and “outsourcing” of the rule-making authority to the rest of the world. He concluded that Chinese proclivity to work with global institutions offers some hope for finding solutions to the two most pressing challenges of the future — climate change and energy security.

A China specialist, Professor Steinfeld focuses on the political economy of reform in socialist and post-socialist systems. His book Forging Reform in China explores the process of state enterprise restructuring in China and attempts to illuminate the institutional drivers of economic behavior in the Chinese system.

This presentation is part of the Strauss Center’s International Security Speaker Series, which features leading scholars and policy practitioners discussing challenges and solutions for meeting the security demands of the modern world.

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