‘Crisis’ is frequently diagnosed today in the context of various interrelated issues: climate change, various financial and economic shocks, the COVID-19 pandemic migration, and the never-ending eurocrisis. But how is ‘crisis’ diagnosed and what are the challenges, problems, and opportunities of this diagnosis? When does crisis create the possibility of transformation and/or radical change, and when is that possibility effaced because of its urgent and drastic connotations? Under what conditions do crises undermine or reaffirm existing power relations, institutional structures, and vested interests?

For the lecture series we have invited exciting speakers who will present different political-economic perspectives on crises and transformations including Heiner Flassbeck (economist), Bob Jessop (University of Lancaster), Alina Brad (University of Vienna), Daniela Gabor (UWE Bristol), Amanda Machin (Witten/Herdecke University), Franziska Müller (University of Hamburg), Brett Christophers (Uppsala University), Jason Moore (Binghamton University), Bill McKibben (economist and activist), and Matthew Paterson (University of Manchester) (in order of appearance).

At the end of each session, we will discuss what we have heard, incorporating the learnings from the previous sessions, in order to develop a shared vision of how the various crises are related and what a future sustainable international economic and political system and society might look like. To this end, we have created an interactive Prezi mindmap where you can navigate through the key insights from each session.

The Political Economy of Crises and Transformations