Research seminar information
Time: Friday, 12.12.2025, 13:00-14:00 (UTC +2 / Helsinki time)
Place: Room 247 (2nd floor), Unioninkatu 33 (inner courtyard), you can also
The Crisis of the World Economy at the Outbreak of the First World War
The Crisis of the World Economy at the Outbreak of the First World War". The outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914 unleashed a globe-spanning economic crisis -- one that nearly caused the collapse of British finance, temporarily paralyzed global shipping, and caused the volume of world commerce to plummet. Yet despite many thousands of publications on the causes and outbreak of the war, this crisis has not been well remembered. This lecture will describe the course of the crisis and how it affected economies and societies from the major Western European belligerents to colonial West Africa and Southeast Asia, showing how, even as the world staged a recovery, it left devastating legacies of economic instability and political upheaval around the world in its wake.
About the speaker
Jamie Martin is an international historian with a focus on the history of international political economy and empire, particularly during the era of the world wars. He is the author of The Meddlers: Sovereignty, Empire, and the Birth of Global Economic Governance (Harvard University Press, 2022), which charts the origins and rise of the first international institutions to govern global capitalism after World War I – and the political resistance they generated around the world, from Western Europe to the Balkans, the United States, Latin America, China, and colonial Southeast Asia. He has published widely on the political economy of the world wars, international institutions, the history of commodities, and the intellectual history of crisis. His public writing - on topics such as the history of central banking, financial crisis, and global governance - has also appeared in The New York Times, The London Review of Books, The Nation, n+1, Dissent, Bookforum, and The Guardian.
About the seminar series
The Autumn 2025 Research Seminar Series by the Centre of Excellence in Law, Identity and the European Narratives at the University of Helsinki continues the spring series in exploring the concept of "the Other" in relation to Europe. Seminars examine the historical, cultural, economic, and political dynamics that have shaped European identity and its relationship with those perceived as outsiders. Delving into the notion of "Europe and its Others," the speakers include scholars, activists, and policymakers discussing how Europe has defined itself through contrasts with non-European cultures and ideologies as well as the "Others" within Europe.
The invited speakers in the series will explore how non-European regions have often reacted critically to Europe’s self-understanding as a bastion of democracy, rule of law and human rights. Through colonial legacies, economic inequalities, and political tensions, many regions have challenged Europe’s moral authority, bringing into question its universal claims of fairness and governance. The Research Seminar Series aims to challenge existing narratives, fostering dialogue on inclusion, exclusion, and the evolving understanding of belonging in a globalized world.