Which blind spots shape scholarship in International Political Economy (IPE)? This is the central question that animates a set of joint Special Issues that has been simultaneously published by New Political Economy and Review of International Political Economy, and which I co-edited together with Genevieve LeBaron, Colin Hay and Daniel Mügge.
The introductions of the New Political Economy and Review of International Political Economy special issues are both open access.
Although many scholars of international and comparative political economy were reasonably confident that they understood (and in some cases had even predicted) the 2008 global financial crisis, a little over ten years on, it is no longer as clear that our current theoretical frameworks, key concepts and empirical preoccupations are up to the challenge of making sense of, let alone fashioning solutions to, the global challenge of times in which we live. The ubiquity of racism and xenophobia, the spiraling threat of climate crisis, the growth of populism and nationalism, the rise of the platform economy—these are just a few of the dynamics that political economists must seek to make better sense of if their challenge is to be responded to effectively.
This is an exciting and field-defining project that brings together a wide range of scholars to explore these important questions. The joint special issues are the product of a two-day workshop that was organized by SPERI at the University of Sheffield in March of 2019 and supported by my Leverhulme Trust visiting professorship grant.
This short video provides some insights into the central themes of this project:
jacquelinebest.com 