Blog
2017
The next Brexit...
Craig Berry - 19 December 2017The path to ‘soft Brexit’ has now been firmly established. But the real disjuncture between the UK and the EU may be yet to come
The making of a movement: who’s shaping Corbynism?
Christine Berry - 18 December 2017No leader, no ideology can come to power — and stay in power — alone. Who are the key thinkers, organisers and behind-the-scenes players shaping Corbynism, what does its future hold, and what does this mean for civil society?
The geopolitics of African urban transformation
Tom Goodfellow - 15 December 2017Africa is undergoing an urban revolution which is taking place in the context of a sea change in global geopolitics
Budget 2017: Facilitating Homeownership to build political support
James Wood - 11 December 2017The recent Budget showed the Conservatives following Thatcher’s example of facilitating homeownership as a means to build political support
Capital controls are back on the agenda – but why did Britain scrap them in the 1970s?
Jack Copley - 07 December 2017Labour and Conservative governments in the 1970s abolished exchange controls and the reasons don’t just lie in free market ideology
Can the Eurozone resolve its macroeconomic imbalances before the next crisis?
Rasmus Hovedskov Hansen & Ian Alexander Lovering - 06 December 2017The Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure attempts to prevent future economic crises within the Eurozone by remedying emerging imbalances. Precisely how to achieve this, however, has opened a struggle for the very direction of European governance
The Taylor Review and pensions: bad news for precarious workers
Jo Grady - 07 December 2017In order to prevent future pension crises, under-pensioned and precarious workers in the modern economy need a long term and sustainable vehicle for retirement saving, but the Taylor Review missed an opportunity to address this
Capitalism doesn’t work? That’s fake news
Sir Keith Burnett - 01 December 2017University of Sheffield President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir Keith Burnett urges policymakers to stop pretending broken markets can be fixed with more regulation
The Finance Curse research agenda: what we learned
Andrew Baker - 27 November 2017A finance curse research agenda involves forensic dissection of financial dysfunction and pathology, helping to illuminate what needs to be put right
George Osborne’s legacy lives on in Philip Hammond’s latest budget
Craig Berry - 23 November 2017The Chancellor glossed over terrible forecasts, delivered more hype than substance on industrial strategy, and succumbed to another housing market stimulus. But the Osbornomics bag of budget tricks is delivering diminishing returns for the British economy
A critique of proposed solutions to the German trade surplus
Muhammad Ali Nasir - 22 November 2017Germany’s large trade surplus, especially with the US, has become a significant political issue, but remedying the situation is not straightforward
Revisiting the developmental state 9: Conclusion
Matt Bishop & Tony Payne - 21 November 2017The East Asian developmental state was a phenomenon of its time that hasn’t been precisely replicated, but state developmentalism as a strategy for national insertion into the global order remains necessary
From Berlusconi to Weinstein to Westminster: Why we need a feminist political economy
Vanessa Bilancetti - 20 November 2017Feminist political economy can help to reveal subordination in a labour market built on gendered economic relations
Don’t depoliticise inclusive growth!
Professor Tony Payne - 16 November 2017The endeavour to set out and implement a new vision for more inclusive growth will fail if it is not treated fundamentally as a matter of political economy, rather than an aspect of social policy
Public aid is driving financial innovation to support international development
Gail Hurley - 15 November 2017International development is increasingly being financed in innovative new ways. Public aid money is critical and its role should be celebrated more
The Finance Curse: Building a new knowledge network
Andrew Baker - 14 November 2017A workshop in Sheffield this week will examine the symptoms of a phenomenon known as the ‘finance curse’, establish a future research agenda and discuss potential responses
Revisiting the developmental state 8: the new challenges of Asia’s latecomer industrialisation
Henry Wai-chung Yeung - 14 November 2017Industrial policy needs to be rethought if it is to remain effective in promoting economic development in a highly globalised world economy
Macron’s labour reforms are a major test for France’s trade unions
Heather Connolly - 13 November 2017President Macron’s extensive labour reforms are part of a programme of state-led liberalization which will shift the balance of power towards employers and test trade union strength and unity
Competition without competitors?
Patrick Kaczmarczyk - 10 November 2017Coordinated policy actions are needed to tame dominant corporate power and rent-seeking
Disgorging the social settlement: What the Paradise Papers tell us about firms
Adam Leaver - 10 November 2017The Paradise Papers reveal how debt and other financial mechanisms are used to move funds offshore and avoid tax. New constraints on firms and managers are needed
Understanding migrant trajectories through the lens of differentiated embedding
Louise Ryan - 09 November 2017In the evolving context of Brexit, a new framework can help explain the factors that shape migrants’ choices to stay in the UK or to leave
Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram: their first six months working with the combined authorities
Georgina Blakeley & Brendan Evans - 08 November 2017Six months have passed since Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region elected metro-mayors. In this first of a series of three blogs we assess their progress so far
Revisiting the developmental state 7: understanding the Mauritius ‘miracle’
Courtney Lindsay - 07 November 2017What do the high levels of development and economic upgrading achieved by a small Indian Ocean island country tell us about the notion of the developmental state?
How should progressives respond to the anti-competitive tendencies of the platform economy?
Craig Berry & Sean McDaniel - 06 November 2017Firms such as Google and Uber – and their control of our data – may pose a threat to the UK’s competition regime. How policy-makers respond to this will help to define the platform economy
The great uncertainty paradox
Colin Hay - 02 November 2017Uncertainty is the essence of social, political and economic systems. This is the final post on our series on researching uncertainty
Industrial strategy: here come the British
Craig Berry - 01 November 2017The final report of the Industrial Strategy Commission outlines a bold vision for strategic economic management in the UK, including institutional reforms at the centre. Can we expect the same radicalism from the May government?
Revisiting the developmental state 6: towards ‘developmental regimes’ in Africa?
David Booth - 31 October 2017The essence of contemporary African developmentalism lies less in the nature of the state and more in that of the regime, especially its capacity to pursue sound development policies
Economic uncertainty and economics imperialism
Matthew Watson - 26 October 2017The question of why uncertainty does not feature more prominently as an economic ontology requires answers that are rooted in intellectual history. This post, the sixth in our series on uncertainty, searches for them by looking at how economic history has become increasingly colonised by economic theory, and economic theory by mathematics.
Capitalising on Brexit? Charting the next phase of European Capital Markets Union
Scott Lavery - 25 October 2017Although the UK embraced Capital Markets Union (CMU) in its early stages, it also strongly resisted attempts to enhance EU-level supervisory powers. Brexit could now see the CMU agenda develop further – but not in the way the UK had initially anticipated
Revisiting the developmental state 5: India and Brazil in the 21st century
Dr Valbona Muzaka - 24 October 2017Real and credible development in these countries means pursuing knowledge social economy visions that are genuinely autochthonous
The social economy is missing in strategies to create more inclusive growth
Andrew Westall - 23 October 2017As more places around the UK focus on inclusive growth it is essential that the social economy is no longer left out
The IMF and a new politics of inequality?
Alex Nunn & Paul White - 20 October 2017Recent statements about inequality by the IMF have attracted media interest, but are they saying anything new?
Forecasting inflation amid uncertainty: have we forgotten the dog and the frisbee?
Muhammad Ali Nasir - 18 October 2017The Bank of England’s inflation forecasts in the period since the Brexit vote have been largely inaccurate – is this because the Bank has forgotten the rule of thumb championed by its own chief economist? This is the fifth post in our series on the impact of uncertainty on social science
Revisiting the developmental state 4: the ‘Beijing Consensus’ & prospects for democratic development in China and beyond
Ziya Önis - 17 October 2017Whether China liberalises politically, as the original ‘Asian Tigers’ did, or maintains its authoritarian approach is an issue with theoretical and practical implications that resonate well beyond China’s own immediate development challenges
Revisiting the developmental state 1: Introduction
Matt Bishop & Tony Payne - 26 September 2017It’s time to open up a new debate about the potential gains offered by this longstanding and core concept in the study of the political economy of development
The Life Sciences should not have an Industrial Strategy
Richard Jones - 20 September 2017It’s time to open up a new debate about the potential gains offered by this longstanding and core concept in the study of the political economy of development
The Anglo-American Centre-Left and the immediate question of agency
David Coates - 18 September 2017The Democrats and the Labour Party have been on the defensive for too long. Winning again requires a progressive re-radicalization of politics
Overseas anti-slavery initiatives flourish, but domestic governance gaps persist
Genevieve LeBaron & Andrew Crane - 14 September 2017UK-based companies are ramping up efforts to combat slavery in their overseas supply chains. But companies also need to be working harder to address the severe labour exploitation taking place at home
The strange still-birth of ‘Milimayism’
Tony Payne - 11 September 2017Britain just can’t generate the politics with which to build the new reformist consensus its political economy so badly needs
Depoliticisation: What is it and why does it matter?
Matthew Wood - 07 September 2017Understanding the concept of depoliticisation – and of politicisation – is key to understanding the governing strategies of policymakers and how decisions are made
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization: the biggest international organization you’ve never heard of
Rick Rowden - 04 September 2017The West has paid little attention to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. This is set to change as it becomes increasingly influential in global geopolitics
The balancing act of Brexit and digital trade
Christopher Foster - 29 August 2017As the UK leaves the EU it risks a potential ‘digital cliff-edge’. How it navigates its way through global tensions around digital trade rules will orientate the shape of the economy for years to come
Trump, the Russia sanctions and Europe’s energy future
Helen Thompson - 24 August 2017The significant deterioration in US-Russia relations and new sanctions could profoundly impact the EU and its energy needs
The problem with treating a financial network like a financial market
Adam Leaver & Daniel Tischer - 23 August 2017Ten years after the financial crisis, the risks associated with securitisation are yet to be fully appreciated
Does age now trump class in British politics?
Kate Alexander Shaw - 21 August 2017After higher youth turnout in the 2017 general election Labour has to think hard about whether fairness is about class or cohort
Are China’s economic activities good for Zambia?
Mwai Daka - 15 August 2017Chinese investment to Zambia has created jobs and trade but there are serious concerns about conditions for labour in the copper industry
Developing a local government finance system that works for all?
Kevin Muldoon-Smith & Paul Greenhalgh- 15 August 2017Property and land are increasingly significant to local government financing – but their valuation and taxation need urgent reform to fund local services and support growth
Has the salience of ‘saving’ in British political discourse declined?
Craig Berry - 09 August 2017The practice of saving has been complexified, but the concept has until recently retained discursive significance as part of an ‘asset-based welfare’ agenda. The 2017 election may, however, have signalled a significant shift in British economic statecraft
Devolution and austerity are intertwined in Sheffield City Region
Martin Jones & David Etherington - 08 August 2017A new conversation about devolution that acknowledges the impact of austerity on city regions is urgently needed
Why the Conservatives struggle with empathy
Ben Richardson & Simon Glaze - 03 August 2017The ‘nasty party’ tag will stick until the Conservatives reject making moral judgements about poorer members of society
The Labour Party’s free movement dilemma
Owen Parker - 31 July 2017There are good pragmatic and principled reasons for the Labour Party to reverse its opposition to the free movement of EU citizens
Brexit risks harming African economies that trade with the UK
Peg Murray-Evans - 27 July 2017The UK must pay urgent attention to the complexities of African trade in order to avoid Brexit having damaging effects
The collapse of France’s Socialist Party amidst the Macron surge
Ben Clift & Sean McDaniel - 26 July 2017With Macron dominant and the left divided, the future of a devastated Socialist Party is extremely unclear
Labour’s Titanic Brexit nightmare
Matt Bishop - 24 July 2017In even flirting with leaving the EU Single Market, the UK is heading full steam towards an iceberg of historic proportions, and this will destroy Labour if a change of course is not pursued
Towards a coherent industrial strategy for the UK
Richard Jones - 19 July 2017The new report by Industrial Strategy Commission sets out positive principles that can be the foundations for a new UK industrial strategy
The power relations of debt: care and resistance
Daniela Tepe-Belfrage & Johnna Montgomerie - 18 July 2017Rethinking debt and how it is ‘cared for’ reveals its gendered, classed and racialised nature
Has neoliberalism gone too far? And if so, where do we go from here?
Vivien Schmidt & Jean Monnet - 17 July 2017To replace neoliberalism we need a renewal of liberal capitalism combined with a renewal of democracy
The future history of Donald Trump
Jamie Morgan - 13 July 2017The concerns and conflict that are already central to the Trump presidency will be key to understanding Trump as future history
Understanding foreign relations between India and Iran
Rick Rowden - 12 July 2017The India-Iran relationship is often ignored yet it provides insights into shifting geostrategic relationships within Asia
Is China’s Belt and Road Initiative dividing Europe?
Małgorzata Jakimów - 11 July 2017China’s grand geopolitical project threatens a new East-West divide in Europe
Learning from China’s success? Europe in the 21st century global economy
Gerhard Stahl - 07 July 2017Europe can learn lessons from China’s development and should agree a new common approach on trade
How to fund a state development bank: a two-stage proposal
Daniela Gabor & Leandros Kalisperas - 06 July 2017Our proposal shows how to fund a new state bank that would harness the money creation power of the Bank of England for the public good
The proletariat problem: general election 2017 and the class politics of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn
Craig Berry - 05 July 2017The election continued the swing of working-class voters to the Conservative Party – but also the more important trend of working-class disengagement from politics. Can Labour respond without succumbing to populism?
Between a rock and a hard place: Trade negotiations post-Brexit and post-election
Silke Trommer - 04 July 2017Future negotiations about service trade liberalisation will present significant difficulties for the UK – whoever is in power
Unfinished business: reforming the Economic and Monetary Union
Peter Verovšek - 03 July 2017Europe’s citizens must put pressure on their leaders to reform the Eurozone – before the next crisis hits
Brexit blues: the election, austerity and leaving the EU
Andrew Gamble - 29 June 2017The election will have profound consequences for Brexit, in a transformed political climate where the initiative has been handed to Labour
How foreign acquisitions lower the debt level of domestic firms
Georgios Efthyvoulou - 28 June 2017New research suggests foreign investment opportunities benefit domestic firms and should be welcomed by national governments
Financializing town halls: Local councils, LOBO loans and the derivatives markets
Sebastian Möller - 26 June 2017LOBO loans and other derivative products connect local authorities with global finance and indicate a new management of municipal debt
The EU a year after the UK referendum: new momentum and optimism?
Simon Bulmer - 23 June 2017With the EU issue in the UK far from settled, reports of the demise of the EU and the Eurozone have been greatly exaggerated
The split in neoliberalism on Brexit and the EU
Keshia Jacotine - 22 June 2017Protectionist or pragmatic? Leave or Remain? A year ago neoliberals were divided on Brexit but now they are united
General election 2017 and the incompleteness of industrial strategy
Craig Berry - 21 June 2017Industrial strategy is the Achilles heel of British economic statecraft, but the radical approaches promised by both the Conservatives and Labour fall short of a transformative agenda
EU mortgage reforms and the shifting power of civil society and the financial industry
Lisa Kastner - 19 June 2017Analysis of new EU mortgage reforms shows how civil society groups were able to translate their key goals into policy and counters the financial industry ‘capture’ narrative
General election 2017 and the insidiousness of austerity politics
Craig Berry - 15 June 2017The Corbyn ‘surge’ denied the May government the majority it took for granted – but the implication that austerity in the UK is over is far from clear
Negotiating the impossible? Brexit after the election
Simon Bulmer - 14 June 2017Multiple scenarios now exist for the imminent Brexit negotiations. An informed deliberation over the options must be the immediate way forward
Reassessing Corbynism: success, contradictions and a difficult path ahead
Matt Bolton - 13 June 2017Corbyn’s success in building an alliance that extends from Greens to UKIP voters only postpones the moment of Labour’s reckoning with Brexit
Brexit, don’t forget how we got here
Jamie Morgan - 12 June 2017Understanding Brexit requires us to consider the political economy of tax justice and the abuse of wealth protection
That was the Crisis that was: the 2017 election and the strange demise of the 2007-08 crisis
Chris Kirkland - 07 June 2017Despite dominating UK politics for the last decade the crisis has been a notable absence from the 2017 general election campaign
The great Australian neoliberal experiment
Keshia Jacotine - 06 June 2017The story of how Australia embraced the free market
Tax spillover, development and global governance
Andrew Baker - 05 June 2017Our new tax spillover framework is intended to increase scrutiny of countries’ tax regimes and discourage ‘race to the bottom’ behaviours
Is regionalism declining in world politics?
Ahmad Rizky M. Umar - 01 June 2017To counter moves towards more nationalist politics, regional integration must involve greater social integration
The triple lock is a pensions policy, not a pensioner policy
Craig Berry - 30 May 2017While the current method of uprating the state pension is imperfect, Theresa May’s proposal to abolish it is based on a flawed view of intergenerational fairness
Independent Scotland is an economic opportunity for the north of England
Robin McAlpine - 26 May 2017Shared economic interests mean Scottish independence could enhance not threaten the north’s economy. This must be part of the independence debate
The working lives of the under-30s show the future of work for us all
Antonia Bance - 23 May 2017New research by the TUC to understand the lives of Britain’s young workers will help improve work and give them a path to union membership
How the financial industry mobilized against the European Financial Transaction Tax
Lisa Kastner - 22 May 2017Despite broad post-crisis support in Europe for a financial transaction tax, the financial industry successfully lobbied to water down proposals and delay its implementation
How to reform the UN Security Council?
Matthew Rablen - 18 May 2017Reform of UN Security Council must look to a ‘Weak Veto’
Back to the future: women’s work and the gig economy
Abigail Hunt - 16 May 2017Learning from the history of women’s work can help to overcome discrimination and improve working conditions in the gig economy
Review: The End of British Politics? by Mick Moran
Scott Lavery - 15 May 2017This timely new book expertly charts the endurance of the British state and how elites have sought to ‘repurpose’ it. Whether this can be achieved again after Brexit is highly uncertain
To gain legitimacy new metro-mayors must improve turnout and diversity
Georgina Blakeley & Brendan Evans - 11 May 2017New metro-mayors must now deliver on their policy commitments, and quickly seek to secure the ‘democratic moment’ that advocates of devolution promised
Longevity as transferable ‘risk’: the new financial dynamics of ageing
Giselle Datz - 10 May 2017Transfers between defined benefit pension schemes and (re)insurance companies are expanding the landscape of retirement risk shifts
Falling through the gaps: insecure work and the social safety net
Jane Mansour - 09 May 2017Labour market support systems need to adapt to better support the growing number of workers in vulnerable employment
Millennials versus Baby Boomers: words matter in the politics of intergenerational fairness
Kate Alexander Shaw - 08 May 2017Rhetoric used today to describe intergenerational debates will shape tomorrow’s policies – and affect all of our futures
Metro-mayor elections: a new type of second-order election?
Georgina Blakeley & Brendan Evans - 04 May 2017As polls open a range of electoral features – personality, campaigning and voting systems – will tell us if voters see today’s elections as ‘second-order’
Organising against the gig economy – lessons from Latin America?
Adam Fishwick - 02 May 2017New strategies of organisation and workers’ control in Latin America suggest ways to tackle the insecurity of the gig economy
New Unions, Old Laws – Why flexibility is key in the ‘gig economy’
Sebastien Flais - 02 May 2017The gig economy companies must and can be challenged to better protect their workers; this can be done under existing legislation
Brexit Britain and undemocracy: an epilogue
Craig Berry - 28 April 2017Paradoxically, the snap election is a further nail in the coffin of actually-existing British democracy – and reinforces the role of Brexit in the revival of conservative statecraft
Metro-mayors: campaigning in poetry, governing in prose?
Georgina Blakeley & Brendan Evans - 27 April 2017New metro-mayors will be elected in English city-regions on May 4th. Once elected the hard task of defining the new roles begins
The Changing World of Work and the trade union movement’s response
Becky Wright - 25 April 2017The economy and employment are changing fast, but there are important steps that unions can take to be prepared
Organising with on-demand freelancers in the platform economy: Part Two
Greetje (Gretta) F. Corporaal - 25 April 2017Adopting online freelancing platforms as part of your business model presents organisations with challenges that require novel solutions
Disarray on the French left – what next for the Parti Socialiste
Sean McDaniel - 21 April 2017Socialist candidate Benoît Hamon looks set to finish fifth in Sunday’s presidential election. With crucial legislative elections following in June, the party is in disarray.
It’s time to regulate the gig economy
Janine Berg & Valerio De Stefano - 18 April 2017Technology is used to monitor workers doing platform-based work. It can also be used to regulate work and protect workers
Organizing with on-demand freelancers in the platform economy: Part One
Greetje (Gretta) F. Corporaal - 18 April 2017To understand the future of work we need to explore the diversity of platforms and how they are used in the modern economy
Liberalisation of the Water Industry: What next for consumer and environmental protection?
Jon Morris - 13 April 2017From April 1st companies in the UK can choose to switch their water provider; a domestic roll-out for households seems inevitable
The gig economy requires unions to embrace the Internet
Alex J. Wood - 11 April 2017The internet provides new opportunities to strengthen collective action and improve new forms of work
It’s not the gig economy, stupid
Daniel Tomlinson - 11 April 2017The gig economy has got us talking about the labour market, but the decline in trade union membership matters more
A crisis of control – what should the on-demand workforce be demanding?
Alice Martin - 07 April 2017To improve security at work we must bring together the demands of people in work with those looking to find work
Remaking the case for a ‘developmental state’ in Britain
Tony Payne - 23 March 2017Britain urgently needs a new national development strategy after the Brexit vote and must find the will to embrace a radically different model of the state
The political economy of the White Paper on The Future of Europe: Part Two
Owen Parker - 22 March 2017The Commission’s White Paper understates both the depth of the crisis associated with the EU status quo and what needs to be done about it
The political economy of the White Paper on the Future of Europe: Part One
Owen Parker - 21 March 2017The Commission’s new White Paper offers some interesting post-Brexit scenarios for ‘the future of Europe’, but realising any of these will be difficult in a context of political divisions among the remaining 27 states
The problems with measuring tax systems
Nicholas Shaxson - 16 March 2017In debates about tax policy we need to de-emphasise the role of economics and measurement and rekindle the politics
Re-framing tax spillover
Andrew Baker & Richard Murphy - 14 March 2017Interest in ‘tax spillover’ is growing but there is a need to reframe existing analysis. Our new framework would give a fuller reading of international and domestic tax vulnerabilities
Lost in Dicey: judges, Brexit and the constitution
Mich Moran - 13 March 2017The Supreme Court’s Article 50 judgement was based on a constitutional fallacy that puts the stability of the United Kingdom at risk
The Italian Constitutional Referendum: the fears behind the No vote
Fabio Bordignon, Luigi Ceccarini & Ilvo Diamanti - 09 March 2017The varied generational impact of Italy’s enduring economic crisis was a central factor behind the No vote
The (distorted) issue of inequality
Stephen Buzdugan - 08 March 2017The populist right’s focus on race and immigration claims to be about fairness and inequality, but actually distracts from the more acute matter of the concentration of wealth and income at the very top
IPE’s strategic silence on capitalism and moral order
Jörg Wiegratz - 07 March 2017The study of how neoliberalism is remaking moral order in Africa reveals important insights for scholars of political economy
Donald Trump, Dodd-Frank and the politics of academic critique
Nathan Coombs - 01 March 2017As opposition mounts to post-crisis regulatory reforms, scholars should rethink their critical evaluation of the progress that has been made
Inclusive growth at city-region level: a perspective from Greater Manchester
Ruth Lupton - 28 February 2017Greater Manchester is an important test-bed for how inclusive growth can be put into practice at a local level
The American kids are alright
Rick Rowden - 23 February 2017The significant public and political protests during the first month of the Trump presidency represent the backlash to the backlash
Inclusive growth: the challenge of our time
Colin Hay - 21 February 2017A new growth model must be economically and morally sustainable – now, and for future generations
Forever young, but never young?
Craig Berry - 15 February 2017Alan France’s ambitious account of young people’s experience of economic crisis across eight developed countries shows what it means to be young has been transformed
In Cuba, the post-Fidel era began ten years ago
Ramón I. Centeno - 08 February 2017Under Raúl Castro’s presidency Cuba’s centrally planned economy has significantly integrated market socialist features
Rising powers to the rescue? The future of the liberal economic international order
Richard Woodward - 07 February 2017Those touting China and other rising powers as saviours of the liberal economic international order are likely to be disappointed
Pay ratio reporting: why the time for action is now
Stuart Hill - 02 February 2017With increased support for private sector pay ratio reporting now coming from the likes of major investors such as Legal & General and the Investment Association, this blog argues that action by the UK government is now essential
What ASEAN needs to learn from Brexit
Ahmad Rizky M. Umar - 31 January 2017ASEAN needs to develop stronger leadership and become more democratic. Failure to do this will mean it continue to be fragmented and vulnerable to the danger of ‘breaking up’
The unravelling of Hollande’s ‘anti-austerity’ programme and the crisis of French socialism
Sean McDaniel - 26 January 2017With the failure of Hollande’s promise of ‘le changement’, ahead of this year’s elections the French Socialists find themselves severely weakened and maybe even at breaking point
Italy after the referendum: when change leads to immobility
Arianna Giovannini - 24 January 2017A month after the Italian constitutional referendum and nothing has really changed. The country has a new government and Prime Minister, yet the political and significant economic challenges remain
‘De-globalisation’, or ‘re-globalisation’?
Tony Payne - 23 January 2017The former is the new project of the populist right; the latter needs to be the new vision of the centre-left
Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May and industrial strategy
James Silverwood - 19 January 2017What does the discursive appeal to industrial strategy by Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May tell us about the prospect for radical policy change or continuity?
Angela Merkel’s Germany: still liberals’ best hope for 2017?
Simon Bulmer - 18 January 2017To secure a fourth term a less liberal version of Angela Merkel may emerge as she reacts to the domestic and global tumult of the last year
Brexit and free trade fallacies - Part Two
Matt Bishop - 16 January 2017The British government is displaying an abject grasp of global trade politics; ironically the EU red tape the Brexiteers wish to burn is the very basis on which the ‘free trade’ they hope for rests
Brexit and free trade fallacies - Part One
Matt Bishop - 11 January 2017Modern trade politics is about regulatory harmonisation and attracting flows of investment, and this calls into question the very idea of ‘trade’ as we have understood it until now
European sovereign bond-backed securities: a dangerous idea
Andrea Lagna & Benjamin Wilhelm - 10 January 2017The securitization of European government bonds is likely to increase hierarchies in the Eurozone. Eurobonds represent the most viable path to fiscal solidarity and political union
Labour struggles and acts of physical and symbolic violence
Heather Connolly - 09 January 2017The ‘shirt ripping’ Air France trial highlights the usefulness of Bourdieu’s analysis to understanding conflicts within financialised capitalism
Is there a Scottish economic model?
Ewan Gibbs - 05 January 2017Nicola Sturgeon is keen to emphasis a distinctive Scottish model – yet the SNP’s style and rhetoric differ from the substance and reality of Scotland’s economy
Punching above its weight: Cuba’s medical internationalism
Gail Hurley - 04 January 2017After Castro’s death and with profound political and economic change across the Americas what is the future for Cuba’s medical internationalism?