How did democratic developing countries open their economies during the late-twentieth century? Since labor unions opposed free trade, democratic governments often used labor repression to ease the process of trade liberalization. Some democracies brazenly jailed union leaders and used police brutality to break the strikes that unions launched against such reforms. Others weakened labor union opposition through subtler tactics, such as banning strikes and retaliating against striking workers. Either way, this book argues that democratic developing countries were more likely to open their economies if they violated labor rights. Opening Up By Cracking Down draws on fieldwork interviews and archival research on Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, Turkey, and India, as well as quantitative analysis of data from over one hundred developing countries to places labor unions and labor repression at the heart of the debate over democracy and trade liberalization in developing countries.

‘Adam Dean's powerful book on trade liberalization by democratic developing countries reveals that labor repression is what both enables open economies and weakens democracy. His is a masterful and compelling piece of work that enriches our understanding of development, democracy, and labor unions.'

Margaret Levi - Stanford University

‘Developing economies became more open to international trade during the last three decades, as the number of democracies in the developing world increased. Adam Dean's fascinating book significantly enhances our understanding of trade politics by revealing that democratic governments were more likely to liberalize their trade regimes when they repressed labor rights.'

Dani Rodrik - Harvard University

‘Adam Dean's path-breaking work reveals how repressive government tactics against labor unions and workers were a key element of the path to trade liberalization. Bold, innovative, and full of lively prose, this book provides a blueprint for how to study the political dynamics underlying today's global economy.'

Kathleen McNamara - Georgetown University

‘In Opening Up by Cracking Down, Adam Dean proves that no serious student of international political economy can neglect the crucial role of labor unions – and, even more, of democratic governments' repression of unions – in setting trade policy in new democracies.'

Ron Rogowski - University of California, Los Angeles