Manolis Kalaitzake
Thesis Title: The political power of business and the global economic crisis
Supervisor: Kieran Allen
Biographical Note:
My research interest lies in understanding the complex relationship between business and government in the contemporary global economy. Considering the ongoing process of globalisation and the transnational development of business operations, there is a growing need to examine changes in power dynamics between large corporate actors, national governments and emerging structures of global authority. Thus, my PhD study investigates the methods and effectiveness of transnational business political mobilisation in the context of the current global economic crisis. The crisis may be conceived of as a moment of fundamental change and disequilibrium in global economic and socio-political affairs, which has major implications for evolving business/government power relations. This project aims to pinpoint, examine and understand these developments.
The research will utilize a case-study perspective focusing on three policy areas that have defined the political response to the crisis, namely: global financial regulation; bailout and recapitalisation programs; and management of the sovereign debt crisis. The study will use these policies to investigate the political mobilisation, cohesion and influence of corporate actors in terms of Instrumental power (lobbying, donations, neo-corporatism), Structural power (capital flight, neo-constitutionalism), and Ideological power (media influence, socialisation processes of business and political elites). My analysis is a thoroughly interdisciplinary one which attempts to incorporate and integrate conceptual insights from sociology, international political economy, and political science, and it is grounded in a critical theory approach to social scientific investigation.
Email: manolis.kalaitzake@ucdconnect.ie
