Mona Paulsen
@monapaulsen.bsky.social
Assistant Professor in International Economic Law, LSE Law School. Specialisation in international trade law and economic security, in addition to research and teaching interests in international investment law, international development, and IPE.
Pinned
Mona Paulsen
@monapaulsen.bsky.social
· Aug 12
Happy to share my publication, The Past, Present, and Potential of Economic Security, in 50 Yale Journal of International Law 222 (Summer 2025), now available on Hein Online (DM if you cannot access through your local libraries). My thanks to the student editors who worked hard on this publication.
No point giving oxygen to every threat.
USMCA review has begun. Canada is free to pursue all trade agreements. Canada must notify USMCA partners in the event it seeks a free trade area with China, and accept potential bifurcation of the existing USMCA as a cost to it.
That's it.
USMCA review has begun. Canada is free to pursue all trade agreements. Canada must notify USMCA partners in the event it seeks a free trade area with China, and accept potential bifurcation of the existing USMCA as a cost to it.
That's it.
Trump, in the middle of his latest unhinged Truth Social screed, claims that if Canada makes a trade deal with China, "the first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup."
February 10, 2026 at 2:44 PM
No point giving oxygen to every threat.
USMCA review has begun. Canada is free to pursue all trade agreements. Canada must notify USMCA partners in the event it seeks a free trade area with China, and accept potential bifurcation of the existing USMCA as a cost to it.
That's it.
USMCA review has begun. Canada is free to pursue all trade agreements. Canada must notify USMCA partners in the event it seeks a free trade area with China, and accept potential bifurcation of the existing USMCA as a cost to it.
That's it.
Growing commitments to complement US coercive practices seem to be an ever-growing attempt by the US to legitimise its actions.
Are these commitments puffery or a worrying binding of many countries to a US neo-royal techno-imperialist plan?
www.linkedin.com/posts/mppaul...
Are these commitments puffery or a worrying binding of many countries to a US neo-royal techno-imperialist plan?
www.linkedin.com/posts/mppaul...
At a time when states must think long-term and develop strategies for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by a plethora of stakeholders and technological advancements, what are we seeing?… | Mona...
At a time when states must think long-term and develop strategies for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, driven by a plethora of stakeholders and technological advancements, what are we seeing? Neo-roy...
www.linkedin.com
February 10, 2026 at 8:36 AM
Growing commitments to complement US coercive practices seem to be an ever-growing attempt by the US to legitimise its actions.
Are these commitments puffery or a worrying binding of many countries to a US neo-royal techno-imperialist plan?
www.linkedin.com/posts/mppaul...
Are these commitments puffery or a worrying binding of many countries to a US neo-royal techno-imperialist plan?
www.linkedin.com/posts/mppaul...
If there are efforts to grant special and preferential (not equal) treatment to meet the development needs of advanced economies, will they continue to grant equivalent preferences to developing economies? Or will we see a new era of dependency and ordering that cloaks protection as public goods?
February 9, 2026 at 5:45 PM
If there are efforts to grant special and preferential (not equal) treatment to meet the development needs of advanced economies, will they continue to grant equivalent preferences to developing economies? Or will we see a new era of dependency and ordering that cloaks protection as public goods?
Did Bad Bunny just give the American Society of International Law its theme for the year?
The breadth of the “Americas”
Not sure an academic conference can bring joy. But I'd like to think it could.
The breadth of the “Americas”
Not sure an academic conference can bring joy. But I'd like to think it could.
February 9, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Did Bad Bunny just give the American Society of International Law its theme for the year?
The breadth of the “Americas”
Not sure an academic conference can bring joy. But I'd like to think it could.
The breadth of the “Americas”
Not sure an academic conference can bring joy. But I'd like to think it could.
Reposted by Mona Paulsen
U.K. Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle is heading to Brussels to dissuade the European Commission from shutting Britain out of its proposed “Made in Europe” initiative.
Britain’s trade chief races to Brussels to avoid ‘Made in Europe’ shutout
U.K. officials fear that planned industry act could lock British firms out of key European supply chains.
www.politico.eu
February 6, 2026 at 8:43 AM
U.K. Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle is heading to Brussels to dissuade the European Commission from shutting Britain out of its proposed “Made in Europe” initiative.
Reposted by Mona Paulsen
The end of nuclear arms control ft.trib.al/WDwh6w7 | opinion
The end of nuclear arms control
Expiry of the New Start treaty makes the world a much more dangerous place
ft.trib.al
February 8, 2026 at 11:11 AM
The end of nuclear arms control ft.trib.al/WDwh6w7 | opinion
Reposted by Mona Paulsen
Trump regime’s latest effort to whitewash history and control narrative: all State department posts on X made before Trump took office in 2025 will be removed. That includes accounts for US embassies, missions, ambassadors, department bureaus, programs. www.npr.org/2026/02/07/n...
State Department will delete X posts from before Trump returned to office
The policy change orders the removal of any post made by official State Department accounts on X before President Trump returned to office in 2025.
www.npr.org
February 8, 2026 at 5:32 AM
Trump regime’s latest effort to whitewash history and control narrative: all State department posts on X made before Trump took office in 2025 will be removed. That includes accounts for US embassies, missions, ambassadors, department bureaus, programs. www.npr.org/2026/02/07/n...
Reposted by Mona Paulsen
very good rejoinder to a pretty shoddy and motivated piece. my main comment though is that i would not concede the idea that roosevelt — who essentially coined “liberalism” as americans have understood it — was an “anti-liberal”
Useful, clarifying examination of Trumpism from @nilsgilman.bsky.social, focusing on its foundational elements of "extractive" capitalism, white nationalism, "the systematic dismantling of labor protections," abuses of power, self dealing, and corruption:
nilsgilman.substack.com/p/the-execut...
nilsgilman.substack.com/p/the-execut...
The Executive Fetish
Why Moyn and Goldsmith's Roosevelt-Trump analogy fails
nilsgilman.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 4:02 PM
very good rejoinder to a pretty shoddy and motivated piece. my main comment though is that i would not concede the idea that roosevelt — who essentially coined “liberalism” as americans have understood it — was an “anti-liberal”
What strikes me most today in the news about coalitions, aside from the lack of details, is how governments continue to lend credence to what seem to be contradictory US policies. In letting the US lead global projects, we shift further away from very real questions about climate and inequality.
February 5, 2026 at 2:17 PM
What strikes me most today in the news about coalitions, aside from the lack of details, is how governments continue to lend credence to what seem to be contradictory US policies. In letting the US lead global projects, we shift further away from very real questions about climate and inequality.
Waiving 30 day pauses...
February 5, 2026 at 8:08 AM
Waiving 30 day pauses...
The elimination of disclosure requirements...
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
The elimination of disclosure requirements...
Perhaps most concerning, is the waiving of requirements udner the DPA. 50 U.S.C. 4533. People, this set specific restrictions on executive authority and imposed Congressional notification. www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/...
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
Perhaps most concerning, is the waiving of requirements udner the DPA. 50 U.S.C. 4533. People, this set specific restrictions on executive authority and imposed Congressional notification. www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/...
We d not know yet enough about the public private procurement efforts.
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
We d not know yet enough about the public private procurement efforts.
Note the bizarre roles played by different Secretaries. For example:
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
Note the bizarre roles played by different Secretaries. For example:
Oh the next section confirms that there will be long leases for commercial use... but no confirmation whether the production is for government procurement or not.
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
Oh the next section confirms that there will be long leases for commercial use... but no confirmation whether the production is for government procurement or not.
This confirms such production on Federal lands will be under US management.. not private companies. But will they compete with other projects? Foreign and domestic?
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
This confirms such production on Federal lands will be under US management.. not private companies. But will they compete with other projects? Foreign and domestic?
Umm... what does this mean for national preservation and indigenous communities?
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
Umm... what does this mean for national preservation and indigenous communities?
Industry may consult... but it does not seem they are leading the discussion.
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
Industry may consult... but it does not seem they are leading the discussion.
What is a transparency project? Are all the other projects... opaque projects?
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
What is a transparency project? Are all the other projects... opaque projects?
Let's call this part: selecting national champions. Ripe for potential corruption and concerns of bypassing environmental impact assessments as vital steps for permits. Not to mention security concerns.
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
Let's call this part: selecting national champions. Ripe for potential corruption and concerns of bypassing environmental impact assessments as vital steps for permits. Not to mention security concerns.
The scope is breathtakingly large. Far beyond mining and processing.
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
The scope is breathtakingly large. Far beyond mining and processing.
What do we know from the EO on Critical Minerals?
Not much.
The EO suggests the problem is overbearing federal regulation, leading the government to pursue smarter regulation...but I do not see that as the goal.
Not much.
The EO suggests the problem is overbearing federal regulation, leading the government to pursue smarter regulation...but I do not see that as the goal.
February 5, 2026 at 8:06 AM
What do we know from the EO on Critical Minerals?
Not much.
The EO suggests the problem is overbearing federal regulation, leading the government to pursue smarter regulation...but I do not see that as the goal.
Not much.
The EO suggests the problem is overbearing federal regulation, leading the government to pursue smarter regulation...but I do not see that as the goal.
Some 30 countries want to join critical minerals club, US Interior Secretary Burgum says reut.rs/3Zc1Lyf
Some 30 countries want to join critical minerals club, US Interior Secretary Burgum says
About 30 countries want to join a club of allies and partners on trading critical minerals to reduce reliance on China, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told a conference on Tuesday.
reut.rs
February 4, 2026 at 6:42 PM
But yes, we have talked about the issues with centralising power...
February 4, 2026 at 3:14 PM
But yes, we have talked about the issues with centralising power...