Der Hügel ist Vortrag

For decades, the global economy ran on a simple idea: if we all play by the same rules and keep trade open, everyone wins. Today, that understanding no longer holds. The effects of trade wars, sanctions, and sharpening geopolitical rivalries have knocked the world’s superpowers off the same page. In this talk, William Burke-White explores a new, more realistic path forward. He argues that even if we don’t agree on everything, we can still find practical ways to manage how goods, money, and tech move across borders without causing a global collapse.

Lecture in English.

William Burke-White is Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches public international law, international investment law, human rights and climate change. He holds a BA and JD from Harvard University and a PhD in international relations from Cambridge University, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. A leading authority in global governance and US foreign policy, he has expertise in designing and implementing complex global governance solutions involving multiple institutions and multilateral legal regimes, with a regional focus on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Burke-White’s government experience includes serving on the Secretary of State’s Policy Planning Staff in the Obama administration, where he played a key role in drafting the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, a major initiative to reform US foreign policy. He was also responsible for US engagement with international institutions, including the G20, G8, and the United Nations. Burke-White’s Academy project aims to address the challenge of sustaining cross-border cooperation in the face of rising great-power rivalry and the collapse of the liberal consensus that once underpinned global economic law. Burke-White will benefit from Berlin’s proximity to key institutions including the European Commission, WTO, and OECD as he conducts research on export controls, data transfers, sanctions, and cross-border legal recognition.