Although I ended up as a political economist rather than a political theorist, I still think of my scholarship as a product of those two ways of seeing and being in the world.
What I learned from him will always be an analytic and ethical thread in my teaching and thinking.
I had two supervisors for my PhD (Bill Connolly and Mark Blyth), and I often thought of them as each representing half of my brain. Throughout my studies and in my early career as a professor, I was always divided between my more pragmatic political economy side and my love of theory.
I was so very sad to hear about William Connolly’s death. Bill was such an amazing and inspiring human being. He was someone who always tried to live according to his ethical philosophy - cultivating a remarkable generosity of spirit in himself that brought it out in those around him.
Congrats, Duncan!
@quinnslobodian.com @thunen.bsky.social @dandrezner.bsky.social @jacquelinebest.bsky.social @katemcnamara.bsky.social
I have a new review paper out in @environmentalpol.bsky.social! ✨
What would it actually take for states to pursue green transformations? I identify 5 capacities — planning, disciplinary, strategic, legitimation and adaptive — and their respective policy elements, capabilities and institutions
Very excited to have this commentary article out with RIPE!
Thanks, Scott! Your feedback back on the earlier version was super helpful (as always!).
Thanks also to Oddny Hegadottir, @tobiasarbogast.bsky.social, @drscottjames.bsky.social, Fathimath Musthaq, Dean Curran and @policyrelevant.bsky.social for comments on earlier drafts, and to Louis Massé for top-notch research assistance. /9
A huge thank you to Vivienne Schmidt for challenging me to write ‘a theory paper’ based on my recent research, which was the inspiration for this article. /8
This is a fitting moment in which to pay attention to this darker underbelly of ideational political economy, when far too many politicians are intent on magical thinking, resistant to contrary evidence and invested in a declinist rhetoric that sees failure everywhere but in their own actions. /7
The article includes a practical ‘how-to’ guide to conducting research while taking seriously the limits of ideas and concludes by pointing to some of the significant advantages of adopting this approach to studying ideas. /6
Instead, I show that ignorance and failure are not only widespread and often persistent, but that they can also be functional to economic policymaking: a feature rather than a bug in political economic theory and practice. /5
Yet the recent ‘practice turn’ in political economic scholarship also has its own blind spots regarding the limits of ideas, in large measure because it continues to assume that failure and ignorance are temporary problems that are generally resolved through social learning. /4
The central role played by the limits of ideas poses a challenge for much ideational political economy scholarship. This is particularly true of classical ideational political economy—the scholarship most directly descended from Peter Hall’s (1993) work on policy paradigms and social learning. /3
This commentary essay seeks to make a case for a different way of conceptualizing the role of ideas in political economy by arguing for the need to endogenize the limits of ideas—recognizing the key roles played by ignorance and failure in economic policymaking. /2
Very excited to have this commentary article out in @ripejournal.bsky.social – Open Access!
. . . a short 🧵:
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Peaceful garden walkway with trees leading to a historic building.
'Failure-proof or failure-prone? The paradoxes of global biodiversity institutions' 🌳
Review of International Studies article & video abstract by Sylvain Maechler co-authored w/ Jacqueline Best 🎉
Read and watch here! 👉 https://ow.ly/2jmh50XBOSk
Environment and Climate Politics Working Group
Logo for "Review of International Studies" next to an image of the Earth, with the hashtag #OpenAccess on a dark green background.
#OpenAccess from @risjnl.bsky.social -
Failure-proof or failure-prone? The paradoxes of global biodiversity institutions - https://cup.org/4hZNlcX
- @sylvainmaechler.bsky.social & @jacquelinebest.bsky.social
#FirstView
I'm so pleased to have this open access article out, "Failure-proof or failure-prone? The paradoxes of global biodiversity institutions" in Review of International Studies (@risjnl.bsky.social) with Sylvain Maechler!
Mardi prochain, nous recevrons Leonard Seabrooke, professeur d’économie politique internationale et de sociologie économique au département Organisation de la Copenhagen Business School.
➡️« Getting Action in World Politics »
Présidé par @jacquelinebest.bsky.social
>>> bit.ly/46gtcdq
I'm very much looking forward to chairing this talk by Len Seabrooke as our first IPEN event of the year!
Authors: Jacqueline Best, Matthew Paterson, Ilias Alami, Daniel Bailey, Sarah Bracking, Jeremy Green, Eric Helleiner, James Jackson, Paul Langley, Sylvain Maechler, John Morris, Stine Quorning, Adrienne Roberts, Jens van’t Klooster, Robert Watt and Stanley Wilshire. Abstract: In this article, we survey the literature on central bank action on climate change, focusing particularly on how the combined crises of COVID-19, inflation, and Ukraine have affected this action. We argue that the current situation is a critical juncture in which recent crises have created a highly indeterminate situation regarding what central banks might do regarding climate change. To date, some central banks have used these crises as opportunities for expanding their role while others have succumbed to pressure to withdraw from climate action. We explore three dynamics that generate this openness to various potential trajectories for climate action...
New article!
This review surveys the state of knowledge regarding central bank activity on climate change, and argues that there is considerable indeterminacy in the trajectory of this activity & its potential to contribute to effective climate action.
doi.org/10.1080/0964...
Ha! Perhaps! It came out of a fantastic workshop so we wanted to include all of the workshop members in the output!
It was my first time with more than two authors! Mat & I did the big stuff and the rest of our contributors helped in suggesting, revising, correcting, etc. It was actually a great experience.
Thanks, Kardelen!
. . . @paullangley.bsky.social, @sylvainmaechler.bsky.social, @johnhoganmorris.bsky.social, Stine Quorning, Adrienne Roberts, @jvtk.bsky.social, Robert Watt and Stanley Wilshire.
This paper is the collaborative product of a workshop held at @manchestersci.bsky.social two years ago. Co-authors are: @matpaterson.bsky.social, @iliasalami.bsky.social, @danbaileypoleco.bsky.social, Sarah Bracking, @jbrgreen.bsky.social, Eric Helleiner, @james7jackson.bsky.social. . . /7
As the political and economic leaders around the world come to terms with yet another crisis—the one driven by Donald Trump’s administration—the time is ripe to understand how crises are shaping central banks’ willingness and ability to tackle climate change. /6
We then argue that how this critical juncture is resolved depends critically on national variations in the institutional character of central banks and their political context. /5
