AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SYMPOSIUM
The E-Book on International Finance and Development
Enrique R. Carrasco * and Kristen J. Berg **
I. THE ORIGINS OF THE E-BOOK
II. THE E-BOOK AND THE UICIFD'S COMPLEMENTARY FEATURES
III. THE UICIFD'S TEACHING IMPACT
IV. THE E-BOOK IN THE WILD
V. POST-COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT AND CRITICAL RACE THEORY: BRIEF
OBSERVATIONS
Kristen Berg and I are very pleased to publish the E-Book on International Finance and Development in this issue of Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems. Debuted in the spring of 1998, the E-Book is the main feature of The University of Iowa Center for International Finance & Development (UICIFD), an innovative website that came to life through intensive student-teacher collaboration at the University of Iowa College of Law. Currently, the website consists of fifteen features providing jargon-free explanations and analysis of important matters lay people typically find difficult to understand. To the best of our knowledge, no other graduate school in the United States or abroad has developed a website with the breadth, depth, and focus of the UICIFD. As of August 1, 1999, it received more than 140,000 hits from people worldwide.1
Although the UICIFD is a multi-feature website, here we publish only the E-Book, a sizable electronic handbook on international finance and development. By so doing, we hope to distribute a non-digital version of the E-Book to communities in the United States and abroad that do not have access to computers or the Internet. We recognize that this version will not give readers the full impact of our site, as it does not contain all the "bells and whistles" of the digital format. Still, the E-Book's vital purposes-education and empowerment-are still served very effectively by this publication.
Below is a brief description of the E-Book as well as a description of three academic papers addressing themes found in the E-Book. For readers who might be interested in pursuing a similar Web project, Part I (authored by Enrique Carrasco) describes how the E-Book came about. In Part II, we describe the E-Book's contents as well as the Center's other features. Part III offers several observations regarding our project's teaching impact. Enrique Carrasco concludes this introductory article by commenting briefly on papers written by Professors Chantal Thomas, Amy Chua, and Tayyab Mahmud.
I. THE ORIGINS OF THE E-BOOK
Much of my work in law and development as well as international finance explores a paradox called "growth with marginalization," a term I have used to capture globalization's tendency to simultaneously enrich and impoverish communities throughout the world. The paradox, like the process of globalization itself, is extremely complex and intimidating, especially for lay people.
The idea of creating an educational tool to help citizens understand international finance and development arose from my on-going discussions with critical scholars and activists, especially those involved in Critical Race Theory (CRT). My friends and colleagues repeatedly emphasized that social justice could not be achieved without a better understanding of the economic, financial, and legal aspects of neoliberalism. After some thought, I concluded that we have to "radically monitor" key institutions that help maintain the world order,2 and that this type of monitoring could be achieved in part by providing people worldwide with "the basics." This would help communities around the world question, assess, and resist policies and decisions that might adversely affect them.
When I initially considered how I could pursue this educational mission, I surveyed the traditional means--teaching, publishing in law reviews, and writing books. These methods are useful, of course, and I continue to employ them. But they have an obvious limitation: relatively few lay people read law review articles and academic books.
Thus, I began to conceptualize a practical "handbook" for lay people that could be distributed widely to communities around the world. I also considered the possibility of having students contribute substantively to such a handbook. In the fall of 1997, I floated the idea with my seven seminar students, Saladin Al-Jurf, Sandra Blanco, Ricardo Contreras, Eric Dorkin, Roman Terrill, Nicole Wendt, and James Woepking. All of them were very eager to pursue this unique opportunity. So our first step was to write "concept papers" indicating what the students thought would be the best format and subject matter for the handbook.
Meanwhile, I had numerous conversations about computer technology and the Web with Kristen Berg, my research assistant at the time. Our conversations led me to believe that we could post the handbook in cyberspace. But the risks were daunting. I wasn't sure whether we could meet the technical or "know-how" challenges, the deadlines, and the substantive tasks.
The students' creative yet realistic concept papers and Kristen's enthusiasm for the Web persuaded me to go digital despite the risks. I therefore assigned students to various topics, but only after taking a solemn oath that we would create an integrated, high quality handbook devoted to law and development, international finance, globalization, and the operations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
We established several guiding principles for the writing phase of our project, which we decided would be completed by mid-April of 1998 for a public workshop at the University of Iowa College of Law. First, because we wanted to target lay readers, the handbook would be written in "plain English." I warned the group that this would not be easy, since we had to translate jargon into easily accessible language. Second, even though we would write in simple and direct language, we could not approach substance simplistically, inaccurately, or superficially. Third, we happily agreed to banish law review type footnotes from the handbook. Instead, we would create a modest number of hyper-links in the text allowing the reader to read in more depth about a particular matter by simply clicking on the highlighted passage.
As the seminar students labored over their papers, Ms. Berg tackled the many technical issues relating to the creation of the handbook. As the Project Producer, she established uniform word processing specifications that enabled her to convert the papers efficiently to HTML code. She then designed and created a framework to provide a cohesive and easily navigable electronic environment for the handbook. Needless to say, the project kept all of us extremely busy and very apprehensive about making it to the "finish line."
Thanks to the authors' very hard work, Ms. Berg's skills, determination, and stamina, and the support of our Dean, William Hines, we debuted the "E-Book on International Finance and Development" on April 17, 1998, in Iowa City. Using a live hook-up to the Internet, we projected the E-Book on a large screen in the law school's auditorium. During the three-hour workshop, each exhausted, but proud, participant in this project ably explained and demonstrated the features and substance of the electronic handbook to a mixed audience of students, faculty, and Iowa City residents. The local reaction was very positive, and soon thereafter people around the world began "hitting" the site - over eighty countries have been registered thus far - offering their congratulations and making inquiries.
II. THE E-BOOK AND THE UICIFD'S COMPLEMENTARY FEATURES
Consisting of approximately 270 printed pages, the E-Book helps lay people understand the meaning of "development" and how major flows of money throughout the world (frequently called "international capital") affect their daily lives. Part One introduces readers to the concept of development and explains the activities of two important international financial institutions created in the 1940s, the IMF and the World Bank, collectively called the Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs). Part Two of the E-Book discusses criticisms of the BWIs and other major topics of development, such as the rise of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), corruption and regulatory transparency. Part Three focuses on "globalization" and international finance, using the Mexican and Asian financial crises to explain and illustrate issues and problems.
Like the E-Book, the UICIFD's other features are collaboratively developed and produced by Professor Carrasco and student staff members. Students perform the research and writing under Professor Carrasco's close supervision and frequently share the work with each other as it is being posted. The other features provide readers with information that complements or updates the E-Book. For example, the Monitor contains a data base of news summaries regarding major events in international finance and development.3 The Reading Table provides abstracts of varied and in-depth articles addressing themes related to the E-Book.4 The Perspectives feature posts topical essays written by a broad variety of authors, ranging from NGO activists to academics.5 The Poll allows the Center's users to vote on major issues relating to international finance and development (e.g., debt relief).6 The Hot Docs feature offers texts of key documents, such as speeches and reports relating to proposals to create a "new global financial architecture."7 The Quiz enables users to test their basic knowledge of international finance and development.8
The remaining features provide additional interactivity and otherwise offer services typical of top quality websites. For example, the website includes email, a discussion room, a calendar, and an extensive links page. The Help Desk is a quasi-clinical feature enabling students to work directly with citizens around the world who need help with basic information regarding international finance and development. Another feature still in the early stages of development is the virtual Student Union, which provides law students with information regarding job placement and publication opportunities, among other things.
III. THE UICIFD'S TEACHING IMPACT
One of the most exciting aspects of the UICIFD is that it gives students a rigorous academic experience that ultimately benefits citizens in different parts of the world. They must absorb and synthesize difficult material, consider the best method of presentation, and then create the digital product for others to use. This type of "hands-on" approach can give students a sense of responsibility to others, giving them an opportunity to interact with information in a "real" way.
Through this process, students are uniquely inspired and energized by knowing that their learning and work product will enable others around the world to improve their understanding of the subject matter in question. This aspect of the project cannot be overstated. If students are not offered something special, the amount of work and the corresponding stress level will quickly kill an otherwise useful endeavor.
That is why students at the Center are encouraged to develop project autonomy and make the Center "their own," which contrasts with the traditional style of law school teaching. Many courses in the curriculum are not amenable to encouraging autonomy or to accommodating student individuality. Like clinics and journals, the Center supplements classroom-based learning with a more flexible yet substantively challenging format.
The twofold educational mission-informing students and citizenry-is further advanced by UICIFD workshops that have been held over the past year in different parts of the United States. For instance, in October of 1998 we demonstrated the E-Book at a conference of the Society of American Law Teachers in Los Angeles, California. The demonstration was actually a "transnational teach-in" because via the Center's Discussion Room we simultaneously presented the E-Book in Los Angeles, Iowa City, Iowa, and Paris, France. In March of 1999, Professor Carrasco accompanied four students who held a workshop at the International Law Students Association Spring Conference in Washington, D.C. As of this writing, Professor Carrasco and three law students are scheduled to present a workshop in October of 1999 at the Biennial Conference of the World Jurist Association in Vienna, Austria.
Despite the success of the E-Book and the UICIFD thus far, we are constantly mindful of our project's limitations. The most practical limitations are the amount of work involved and the risks associated with a collaborative venture involving students. Creating and maintaining the Center within a traditional law school institutional structure demands a considerable dedication, perseverence, and stamina. One should not entertain such a project unless one is willing to give up others, at least temporarily.
We also approach our work with a healthy measure of skepticism; many of the people we really want to reach do not have computers and even if they do, their hardware may be too old to support efficient access to the Center, and their electricity and telephone lines may not work reliably. Put another way, those who currently have reliable access to the Center are relatively privileged. Thus, we may unwittingly be helping widen the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots," thereby perpetuating the very thing we are trying to stop - growth with marginalization.
The Center nevertheless is involving students in projects that encourage creative and challenging thinking oriented towards community-based social justice. Students involved in the project really believe their learning regarding international finance and development will enable citizens around the world to improve their understanding of the subject matter in question. Surely that's a step in the right direction.
IV. THE E-BOOK IN THE WILD
As we have noted above, this publication of the E-Book does not capture the full E-Book "experience." As many Web surfers know, the Internet brings a facility and immediacy to information that cannot be replicated via hard copy. The UICIFD is carefully designed to exploit the utility of hyperlinks and interactivity, two features that animate good websites.
For instance, throughout the E-Book materials that are available on the Web are linked directly to the text of the papers. A visitor could read a sentence in a section of the E-Book, click on the hyperlink, and within seconds find herself at the primary source. After finishing a portion of the E-Book, the visitor could use the Monitor search engine to find summaries of events relating to the E-Book section she had just read. She could also search the Reading Table and Perspectives archive for related material. She could return to the site later to take the UICIFD Quiz and vote in the Poll. If she had a question about the Center's materials, she could send us an email query directly from the site.
Once you put this TLCP issue down, we invite you to experience the Center and the E-Book in "the wild," i.e., in its natural environment. If you have access to a computer, boot it up, open up your web browser and type in We hope you enjoy the experience.
V. POST-COLONIAL DEVELOPMENT AND CRITICAL RACE THEORY:
BRIEF OBSERVATIONS
I am very pleased that three friends and colleagues of mine have agreed to publish in this "E-Book issue" the papers they presented at the Critical Race Theory Conference held at the Yale Law School in November of 1997. Professors Chantal Thomas, Amy Chua and Tayyab Mahmud were members of the panel I chaired on "Critical Race Theory and Postcolonial Development." This was a seminal event insofar as it was the first Critical Race Theory (CRT) forum in which internationalists such as myself and my colleagues could formally and explicitly explore the links between CRT, primarily a U.S. theoretical project, and development issues typically associated with the "Third World," a world comprised largely of people of color.
The panelists' provided a compelling mix of differing perspectives. But they shared a common critical target, neoliberalism. After the fall of the Soviet Union, nearly every region of the globe embarked upon some form of neoliberal reform. Changes in economic law and policy have concentrated on noninflationary growth, fiscal discipline, high savings and investment, trade and foreign investment liberalization, privatization, and domestic market deregulation. The Asian financial crisis added regulatory transparency and financial market reform to the list of neoliberal prescriptions, which of course also includes the Rule of Law. In many instances these changes have been accompanied by pushes for "democratization," with pro-democracy advocates arguing that political freedoms must accompany economic liberalization.
Many have noted that these reform movements have only exacerbated the gap between the rich and the poor and that much of the marginalization is racialized. Accordingly, I asked the panelists to explore how CRT, which addresses how race and racism (and other forms of oppression) inform U.S. law and society, might open up new avenues of scholarly inquiry in the "law-and-development" area. I also anticipated that some of the panelists would invoke CRT's postmodern strand to question the entire "development" enterprise and to deconstruct its neoliberal framework.
The panelists met and surpassed my expectations. Professor Chantal Thomas's contribution explores the commonalities and differences between CRT and postcolonial development theory. Applying some of CRT's foundational principles to postcolonial development theory, she illustrates-with the appropriate amount of scholarly caution¾how entrenched North/South economic inequality is perpetuated and legitimated within neoliberalism.
By contrast, Professor Amy Chua avoids using CRT to make a paradoxical observation that is well-know in CRT-that despite liberalism's color-blind approach, one must take race and ethnicity into account in order to achieve liberalism's goals. She argues that market reforms will likely succumb to cyclical anti-market nationalizations because such reforms typically have favored economically dominant ethnic minorities in developing countries, eventually causing a backlash by the majority against the "internal foreigners." In light of this analysis, Professor Chua warns Race Crits to be analytically careful with the structural differences between non-economically dominant minorities in the Unites States (e.g., Blacks and Hispanics) and the economically dominant ethnic minorities in many developing countries (e.g., the ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia).
Professor Tayyab Mahmud comments upon Professors Thomas's and Chua's papers. He stresses that race, development, and post-coloniality come together to form an unproductive, linear, and exploitative "way of thinking" that consolidates Western, neoliberal hegemony over the rest of the world. He is not surprised that the capitalist mode of production would produce the oscillations Professor Chua has described. And he suggests that intra-South divisions relating to race and cultural identities can be as important as Professor Thomas's North/South dichotomy. Relying heavily on postmodern analytical prisms, Professor Mahmud proposes disrupting neoliberalism by theorizing the subject as a "bundle of agencies: as a complex site of conflicting desires and multiple subjective modalities."9 Ultimately, he argues, we must fundamentally change the institutional modes of truth production that have thus far erected development's neoliberal framework.
FOOTNOTES
[ all URLs in the footnotes have been updated as of 08/12/00 ]* Professor of Law, University of Iowa, College of Law. Portions of this introduction are drawn from our article published in the Loyola Law Review. 32 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 733 (1999).
** Graduate student in both the College of Law and the College of Education, University of Iowa. I want to take this opportunity to thank my family and colleagues for all their support during my work on this issue. I want to specifically thank Enrique Carrasco for his valuable input and for giving me the opportunity to work independently on the E-Book's bibliographies. He has given me a gift of the invaluable opportunity to be fully responsible for all the glory and all the shortcomings therein.
1. For a description of the Center's "hits," see UICIFD, Recognition (visited Aug. 10, 1999) (http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/staff/recognition/recognition.shtml).
2. See Enrique R. Carrasco, Opposition, Justice, Structuralism, and Particularity: Intersections Between LatCrit Theory and Law and Development Studies, 28 U. Miami Inter-Am. L. Rev. 313, 335, (1997).
3. UICIFD, Monitor (last modified Jul. 19, 1999) (http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/issues/issues.shtml).
4. UICIFD, News [ k/n/a Reading Table ] (last modified Jun. 22, 1999) (http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/issues/issues.shtml).
5. UICIFD, Perspectives (visited Aug. 10, 1999) (http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/issues/issues.shtml).
6. UICIFD, Poll (last modified Aug. 3, 1999) (http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/issues/cuba/cuba.shtml).
7. UICIFD, HotDocs (visited Aug. 10, 1999) (http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/issues/issues.shtml).
8.UICIFD Quiz (last modified Oct. 3, 1998) (http://www.uiowa.edu/ifdebook/ebook2/quiz/quiz.shtml).
9. Tayyab Mahmud, Postcolonial Imaginaries, infra.