- Lab Session |
The World at Economic War
'The world is at economic war. While many might feel uncomfortable at the starkness of this message, an economic war does not necessarily mean that a kinetic war is inevitable. However, failure to recognise the reality of economic conflict means that we are neither prepared nor resilient. Based on her new book, “The World at Economic War: How to Rebuild Security in a World of Weaponised Economics” – one of the Financial Times’ Best Books in Economics of 2025 – Rebecca will look at the role of economics in modern warfare, unpick some of the challenges that are a conflict of excessive use of sanctions and export controls, and look at the key mechanisms for creating economic security.’
*Dr Rebecca Harding is CEO of the Centre for Economic Security and a leading authority on international trade economics. She is a Director of Sovereign Resilience Finance and serves in multiple strategic advisory roles. Harding has built three data-driven technology businesses in digital trade and ESG. Her distinguished academic career includes positions as Senior Research Fellow at the British Foreign Policy Group, Head of Corporate Research at Deloitte, and Senior Fellow at London Business School. She previously served as Chief Economist at the Work Foundation and at UK Finance, and was a Senior Advisor to the UK’s Treasury Select Committee and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Entrepreneurship. She authored "The World at Economic War: How to Rebuild Security in a Weaponized Global Economy" (2025) which was recently listed in the FT’s Martin Wolf’s “Best Books of 2025”. Additionally she has co-authored several influential books on trade and geostrategy, including “The Weaponization of Trade: the Great Unbalancing of Politics and Economics” in 2017. Her media presence includes regular appearances on BBC, Bloomberg, Sky News, and CNBC.
*Dr Rebecca Harding is CEO of the Centre for Economic Security and a leading authority on international trade economics. She is a Director of Sovereign Resilience Finance and serves in multiple strategic advisory roles. Harding has built three data-driven technology businesses in digital trade and ESG. Her distinguished academic career includes positions as Senior Research Fellow at the British Foreign Policy Group, Head of Corporate Research at Deloitte, and Senior Fellow at London Business School. She previously served as Chief Economist at the Work Foundation and at UK Finance, and was a Senior Advisor to the UK’s Treasury Select Committee and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Entrepreneurship. She authored "The World at Economic War: How to Rebuild Security in a Weaponized Global Economy" (2025) which was recently listed in the FT’s Martin Wolf’s “Best Books of 2025”. Additionally she has co-authored several influential books on trade and geostrategy, including “The Weaponization of Trade: the Great Unbalancing of Politics and Economics” in 2017. Her media presence includes regular appearances on BBC, Bloomberg, Sky News, and CNBC.