Description:

The Jackson School Student Academic Workshop Series will feature a presentation by Oscar Oliveira, a public policy in global affairs major at the Jackson School. He will present his research, “The Antitrust Thucydides’ Trap: Telecom Mergers Meets Great Power Competition.”

The decision from the U.S. government to ban TikTok over national security concerns brought foreign ownership to the mainstream. Deals like the U.S Steel proposed merger with the Japanese Nippon Steel, and the Czech company CSG acquisition of Kinetic Group, a leading American small caliber ammunition producer, were recently evaluated under national security lenses. The grip of nationalism on Corporate Law is not new, even in the business-friendly U.S. regulations. In this presentation, Oscar Oliveira poses a different question: Should mergers between American-owned companies be evaluated under national security lenses? Analyzing the successful merger between telecom companies Sprint and T-Mobile, the presentation discusses direct effects and possible externalities of antitrust enforcement and propose that a competitive economy may be better not only for American citizens’ wealth, but also for their security.

The series is a biweekly forum in which advanced undergraduate and graduate students can present their research projects and receive constructive feedback from their peers. This is an opportunity for students to get feedback on independent research projects or their theses, even at a preliminary stage. They can present fieldwork or other research from the summer and bring together a group of interested fellows to shape their analyses and advise on next steps. Advisors and faculty are also welcome to attend and/or participate.

The workshop series is a forum for students with a range of interests, including global health, history, political science, and economics.