TAI Conversations

Robert B. Zoellick: “We Tried Autarky in the 1930s. It Didn’t Work Very Well”

The former President of the World Bank argues that advocates of “decoupling” with China are missing the larger challenge—and that today’s crisis calls for adaptation, not a retreat to autarky.

Robert B. Zoellick is a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He was previously President of the World Bank (2007-2012), U.S. Deputy Secretary of State (2005-2006), and U.S. Trade Representative (2001-2005). Jeffrey Gedmin is Editor-in-Chief of The American Interest.