Introduction: beyond gridlock? : challenges and prospects for global economic governance

This chapter serves as introduction to a book which looks at the economic dimension of global governance and combines various perspectives in the field of Political Science and constructivist International Relations (IR) to explain the fundamental challenges for the future of global economic governance (GEG). The societal approach used in the book as an ideational core supplemented by liberal accounts (the three strands of new institutionalism and the comparative international political economy) makes it possible to analyze the contextual, external factors influencing the design of GEG, and also facilitates the exploration of the domestic factors affecting government policies. Starting from the concept of global economic governance as an imperfect ideational construct, "gridlocked," or enmeshed in self-reinforcing interdependence, this chapter explains the reasons for the inadequateness of the mechanisms ensuring the effectiveness of global economic steering. Then it presents the analytical approach used in the book, locked within a finance - trade - development epistemological triangle. The last section of the chapter outlines all contributions in the book.