Programme leader: Dr. Brian Burgoon

Ongoing trends towards the transnational integration of markets and economic transactions are giving rise to far-reaching transformations of governance both within and beyond the nation-state. The Political Economy and Transnational Governance  programme group focuses on the drivers, dynamics and consequences of these epochal developments in political and economic life. It unites political scientists whose research agendas are rooted in the fields of political economy, public policy and/or international relations, while drawing on diverse theoretical and methodological traditions. What binds them together is an abiding interest in addressing some of the biggest political problems of our time. A common aim is to find a path to more equitable, democratic and peaceful relations within and between polities by describing, explaining and evaluating these transnational transformations of political economy and governance.

Its focus on political economy allows this programme group to explore political-economic practice, policies and governance throughout the world. Ongoing research concerns topics such as the development of varieties of capitalism, welfare reform, economic inequalities and transnational production networks. Also relevant is the study of causal linkages between politics and economics, which can entail how political conflicts and institutions influence economic developments in the world, notably within and between industrialised and developing nations. In turn, linkages between politics and economics can cut in the other direction, where economic relations and interests strongly influence the development of political institutions throughout the world.

Equally crucial to the programme is its focus on transnational governance. Such governance includes experiments with networked, multi-level regulation and public problem-solving within, above and between nation-states as well as across a wide range of policy fields, from financial stability to environmental sustainability. Active research is undertaken in fields, such as the nature and value of regional governance, international governance, supranational governance and networks that straddle these levels of governance, thus making them multi-level in nature. Transnational integration and governance also involve causal relations connecting national developments to other levels of governance above, below or alongside the nation-state.