My research interests lie at the intersection of comparative and international political economy and I’ve been trained predominantly in the historical- and critical-institutionalist tradition of political economy. Broadly speaking, my work takes up three themes that I understand as deeply interlinked:
- The evolution of growth models in the global economic order
- The politics of financialization and (state-owned) banking
- The political economy of European integration
In recent research endeavors, I have sought to approach two salient issues within this triad. On the one hand, I analyze the political economy of financial markets’ involvement with sustainability: ‘sustainable finance’ or ‘green finance’ have become buzzwords in the global and European economy, but its politics must be explored more. A special issue project with Natascha van der Zwan seeks to lay this out in more detail. On the other hand, I have begun to study the causes and implications of contemporary geoeconomic re-ordering in Germany, Europe and beyond. Two studies are already out, one co-authored with Kai Koddenbrock, the other with Milan Babic.
Selected funded projects
2022 to 2025 – Climate Finance Society | Subproject: State-Owned Investment Banks as Transformation Banks?
This project, funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research, is a collaborative research project studying the institutional logics of climate financiers in Germany and France. Co-led with Ulrich Klüh, Lisa Knoll and Silke Ötsch, the project surveys civil society actors, small- and medium-sized companies, central banks and public banks and their contribution to the political-economic landscape of ‘green finance’. My focus lies with state-owned investment banks, such as German KfW, and their subnational and French counterparts. More information.
2018 to 2019 – The Rise of Promotional/Development Banks in Europe: Potentials & Pitfalls
Funded by the Foundation of European Progressive Studies, this project was co-led with Matthias Thiemann. Its core objective was to map the landscape of development banking in the European Union and study its role in the re-making of industrial policy and public investment. One of the outcomes was an edited volume with contributions by wonderful colleagues from across Europe.
2017 to 2023 – Politics of Money
Politics of Money was a DFG-funded research network, led and organized by Kai Koddenbrock and Benjamin Braun, which investigated the resilience of finance capitalism. Besides many workshops, panels and collaborations, out came a book, Capital Claims, in the RIPE Series in Global Political Economy. The network brought together an excellent group of researchers that shaped my thinking about finance in contemporary capitalism.
2017 to 2021 – A BICS-Variety of Capitalism?
This DFG-funded research project, led by Andreas Nölke, studied the challenges to the economic stability of large emerging economies with a focus on Brazil and India. Using the angle of comparative capitalism, our group did not only seek to provide a productive approach to the study of emerging powers, but also explore the complementarities of supply-side and demand-side comparative political economy, like here, here, and here.