Monthly Archives: December 2014

Neoliberal Globalization: Are the Times a-Changin’?

Neoliberalglobalization since the late 1970s has restricted the policy autonomy of national states through a variety of pressures that “discipline” governments implementing measures deemed hostile to free markets. Yet the world is changing fast and the rise of China in particular is shifting the global power balance. Strangely, however, remarkably little has changed in the global order beyond some reshuffling of the dominant players and somewhat greater national independence in decision making. This argument is made at length in Civilizing Globalization, which I recently co-edited with Ali Burak Guven. Continue reading

Six Reasons for Reading Karl Polanyi (Even If You Study the Global South): Part II

In addition to reading Karl Polanyi for his appealing normative stance and transdisciplinary approach, I am drawn to four other attractive features. Continue reading

Six Reasons for Reading Karl Polanyi (Even If You Study the Global South): Part I

Why do social scientists select one theoretical framework rather than another? Continue reading

Catastrophic Climate Change: How Should We Respond?

How many years do we have to prevent catastrophic climate change? Much of the debate, especially that involving governments, is conducted on the premise that we have ample time to make the necessary changes. For instance, the Chinese government’s recent commitment that China’s emissions of GHGs will peak in 2030 was met with broad approval. But the scientific research suggests that we actually have much less time to drastically reduce our GHS emissions than is generally thought. Continue reading