Instrumentalizing Economics for Political Goals, Instrumentalizing Politics for Economic Goals

The ways in which states, firms or individuals pursue economic goals under the guise of political concerns are multifold. Some recent examples include the US trade conflict with China or the EU’s newly developed sensitivities regarding the security implications of Chinese investments. At the firm and individual level political lobbying is widespread in both developed and developing economies; societal cleavages exploited by politicians result in restricted labor market access for migrants in numerous countries.

The instrumentalization of economics towards achieving political goals is also ubiquitous, if less well studied. In recent years, the US and EU sanctioned Russia and Iran in an attempt to withhold international laws and norms, numerous party-line-deviating Chinese business and political elites have been fired or persecuted on economic misperformance claims, and opportunist political figures and authoritarian regimes regularly take advantage of economic crises and natural disasters to get hold of power or to increase the stranglehold on the population.

This workshop intends to uncover the different ways in which economic means could be used towards achieving political ends and vice versa.

Please find the program here.