Basak Kus
@basakkus.bsky.social
2.6K followers 1K following 34 posts
Wesleyan prof. SER editor. OUP author. political economy, public policy, state, finance, climate, crisis, American politics. New Haven. NYC.
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Reposted by Basak Kus
phenomenalworld.bsky.social
“Chinese overseas FDI is nearing $100 billion per year. The Marshall Plan was $200b—and locked Europe into US tech and standards. When we see sums of this size, we can ask whether it will have a similar effect on the globe.”

NEW: @70sbachchan.bsky.social & @mathiaslarsen.bsky.social on the BRI 2.0
basakkus.bsky.social
This year, the College of the Environment think tank at Wes will focus on “Risk and Uncertain Futures: Responding to Global Disruptions.” We've exciting events in the works and are thrilled to welcome Tim Sahay as our distinguished fellow!
@70sbachchan.bsky.social @wesleyanuniversity.bsky.social
Reposted by Basak Kus
nilskupzok.bsky.social
We're now inviting proposals for the New Thinking in Industrial Policy Conference, November 6–7, 2025, at Columbia University!

It is a great opportunity to present and discuss the latest research on industrial policy across the social sciences.
ericverhoogen.bsky.social
Call for papers! 3rd New Thinking in Industrial Policy Conference ‪at Columbia, Nov. 6-7, 2025. Submit here by Sept. 12: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F.... Conf page: cdep.sipa.columbia.edu/content/new-.... Hosts:
‪@ipdcolumbia.bsky.social‬, @cdepcolumbia.bsky.social, ‪@columbiaigp.bsky.social‬, CPE.
basakkus.bsky.social
Hello folks, we are hiring in the area of global justice (potential research areas include human rights, international inequality, migration, global health, the environment, international law, or the erosion of democracy).

Here is the ad: wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/career...
Assistant Professor of Government
Wesleyan University Rank: Assistant Professor Subfield(s): Open Wesleyan University's Department of Government invites applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Government beginning July 1,...
wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
Reposted by Basak Kus
70sbachchan.bsky.social
“The postwar order rested on three pillars: American hegemony, the fossil-fuel energy system, and an open, multilateral trading order. America has now attacked each pillar at the foundation of its hydrocarbon global order.” —
New: @katemac.bsky.social & I
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
basakkus.bsky.social
Just as welfare states can be categorized by their various functions—how much they decommodify, how much they equalize, the source of provision, and whom they primarily benefit—green states can also be conceptualized and categorized by the roles they play and how those roles are structured.
basakkus.bsky.social
How to think about the green state? "Just as the welfare state was a political response to protect the social body from the risks and fluctuations of market-based economic systems, green states are a political response to shield against the many changes and disruptions caused by climate change...
basakkus.bsky.social
We argue that "fully addressing the transformative challenges brought up by climate change requires a fundamental rethinking of core PE concepts related to the state, distributional struggles, economic growth, varieties of capitalism, and markets."
Reposted by Basak Kus
reggovjournal.bsky.social
#Specialissue #Greentransitions #Politicaleconomy

'Green Transitions: Rethinking Political Economy in the Context of Climate Change'
by @basakkus.bsky.social & Gregory Jackson

See special issue introduction 👇

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
ABSTRACT
Although political economy (PE) has long engaged with environmental issues, climate change has remained at the margins of the field until very recently. This article argues that fully addressing the transformative challenges brought up by climate change requires a fundamental rethinking of core PE concepts related to the state, distributional struggles, economic growth, varieties of capitalism, and markets. Rather than treating the state as a neutral regulator or market facilitator, we conceptualize the green state as actively structuring transitions through mitigation policies, adaptation strategies, and the governance of just transition conflicts. Green transitions generate new distributional conflicts—within and across countries, between incumbent and emerging industries, and among social groups with unequal exposure to climate risks and transition costs. Climate policy also challenges growth-centered economic models, raising questions about the viability of green growth versus degrowth strategies. Different varieties of capitalism are evolving in response, with distinct institutional pathways shaping the speed and character of transition efforts. Finally, we critique market-based approaches that assume price mechanisms alone can drive decarbonization, highlighting the role of non-economic values, institutional constraints, and distributional struggles in shaping green markets. By linking climate change to core debates in comparative and international political economy, we identify new research agendas for understanding the uneven and contested pathways of green transitions across economic systems. This article, along with the others in this special issue on Greening the Economy: Toward a New Political Economy, aims to bridge some of these critical gaps.
basakkus.bsky.social
Isik Ozel on climate politics in Latin America: why is it that "Chile, once a laggard, emerged as a regional leader in climate policy in the early 2020s, while Mexico, a pioneer until the early 2010s, experienced a backlash and retreated"?
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Climate Politics in Latin America: The Cases of Chile and Mexico
This paper focuses on climate coalitions and commitments in the Global South by comparing the cases of two Latin American countries, Chile and Mexico. Chile, once a laggard, emerged as a regional lea...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
basakkus.bsky.social
And Jens Beckert frames the climate crisis as a crisis of legitimation. He argues that the climate crisis and the politics of adaptation will be the defining issues in the coming decades, and social scientists must engage with these issues.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Climate Change and the Social Order
Despite decades of awareness, societies have failed to adequately respond to climate change, as evidenced by rising CO2 emissions and the continued dominance of fossil fuels in global energy consumpt...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
basakkus.bsky.social
Kathryn Hochstetler focuses on green economy and the Global South: Are the promises of the green economy credible in the conditions of the Global South? Will the green economy reach the poorest populations of the Global South?
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
The Green Economy and the Global South
The idea of a “green economy” is one of the latest attempts to bridge the environment and development aims, with a focus on economic growth that makes it appealing to countries that still see a signi...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
basakkus.bsky.social
Neil Fligstein offers a critical discussion of eco-Marxism and the varieties of capitalism perspectives in addressing the relationship between capitalism and climate change, presenting an agenda for a political economy of climate change.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Political Economy and Climate Change
The crisis of climate change threatens the existence of human civilization. As social scientists, we should be positioned to theorize and study whether or not the existing system of global capitalism...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
basakkus.bsky.social
As part of our special issue on the political economy of climate change, Gregory Jackson and I invited essays from three senior scholars to discuss the issue from perspectives they believe need to be addressed: Jens Beckert, Kathryn Hochstetler, and Neil Fligstein.
basakkus.bsky.social
@reggovjournal.bsky.social has arrived on Bsky. Hello hello!
basakkus.bsky.social
Another paper out from our special issue on Greening the Economy. @joseatiles.bsky.social and David Whyte examine the role of "regulatory havens" in climate change by looking at fossil capital in the Caribbean. Read here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
basakkus.bsky.social
@fredericmerand.bsky.social and I tried to reach all of Neil's PhD students through the lists that were provided to us, but we worry that we may still have missed some. If this applies to you, our apologies! If you're interested in attending, please let us know!

Feel free to share!
basakkus.bsky.social
In May, we will convene in Berkeley for a 2-day conference to honor Neil Fligstein, our retiring mentor, and discuss recent developments in economic sociology and political economy. Many thanks to Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative and the Dept of Sociology.
sites.google.com/berkeley.edu...
basakkus.bsky.social
It seems to me that the scholarship on the topic is still heavily focused on electoral politics and we don't know that much about how populism has penetrated into other political institutional spaces.