About IIPPE

IIPPE was founded in 2006 with the aim of promoting political economy in and of itself but also through critical and constructive engagement with mainstream economics, heterodox alternatives, interdisciplinarity, and activism understood broadly as ranging across formulating progressive policy through to support for progressive movements. Thus, in terms of intellectual content and direction, we see ourselves as commanding and criticising mainstream economics, offering alternatives from within political economy, addressing the nature of contemporary capitalism and corresponding policy and applied issues, and drawing upon and contributing to the presence of political economy, and critique of "economics imperialism", within other disciplines. Although we do expect Marxist political economy to have a strong presence and to be engaged with seriously as such by participants, IIPPE is a pluralistic forum where all progressive brands of political economy are welcome. We are keen, however, to avoid continuing sterile and academic controversy at the expense of more constructive engagement across theoretical, empirical and practical issues. Current intellectual retreats from the extremes, and agenda-setting postures, of postmodernism and neo-liberalism mean that prospects across the social sciences are more open than for a long time, and some lasting and significant influence can be exerted by concertedly promoting political economy both within academia across the social sciences and more widely. (More about IIPPE)

If you wish to sign up to or contact IIPPE, let us know by emailing iippe@soas.ac.uk.

First International Conference in Political Economy

Following its three previous highly successful international research workshops for students in Crete, Naples and Ankara, the International Initiative for Promoting Political Economy (IIPPE) is now holding its FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, co-organised with the Greek Scientific Association of Political Economy, and open to application from all engaged in political economy. Read More.

IIPPE Research Workshop

• Third IIPPE International Research Workshop
  

Around 60 IIPPE members from more than a dozen countries gathered on September 14-15 at the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara (Turkey) for IIPPE’s 3rd. International Research Workshop. In the wake of the success of the previous two editions in Crete and Procida, this event was proof of IIPPE’s continuing growth in terms of both geographic and thematic scope. The Workshop, which was co-organised by the Turkish Social Sciences Association, counted in particular with the participation of a large number of Turkish heterodox and Marxist researchers — a majority of whom research students —, in a remarkable display of the vitality of political economy in this country.

• Second IIPPE International Research Workshop
  

The Second International IIPPE research workshop was held in Italy in September 2008. This was organised by L'Orientale University of Naples and brought together more than 70 participants from over 10 countries. Over 40 papers were presented, including 30 by research students and other young colleagues. 12 parallel sessions were held, of which six were closely associated with longer standing IIPPE Working Groups (three for finance, two for neoliberalism, and one for commodity studies) and three were related to newly formed Working Groups (developmental state, heterodoxy, and labour).

IIPPE Newsletter

• Issue 1 (November 2008)
  
• Issue 2 (May 2009)
  
• Issue 3 (November 2009)
  

What's new in IIPPE

Theories Of Social Capital: Researchers Behaving Badly
IIPPE/Pluto Book Series, Released January 2010
Tracing the evolution of social capital since his highly acclaimed contribution of 2001 (Social Capital Versus Social Theory), Ben Fine consolidates his position as the world’s leading critic of the concept. Fine forcibly demonstrates how social capital has expanded across the social sciences only by degrading the different disciplines and topics that it touches: a McDonaldisation of social theory. The rise and fall of social capital at the World Bank is critically explained as is social capital’s growing presence in disciplines, such as management studies, and its relative absence in others, such as social history. Writing with a sharp critical edge, Fine not only deconstructs the roller-coaster presence of social capital across the social sciences but also draws out lessons on how (and how not) to do research.

The Developmental State in Korea - Critiques and Alternatives
2:00PM - 5:00PM, 24 November 2009
Room G50, Ground Floor, Main Building, SOAS
This seminar aims to contribute to on-going debates on the form of the capitalist state and its role in socio-economic development by engaging with theories and practices of the South Korean developmental state. Speakers in this seminar try to understand the social and economic development of South Korea in relation to the contradictory evolution of the capitalist state and economic crisis in South Korea.

ESRC Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change - Call for Papers
Finance in question/finance in crisis
University of Manchester, 12-14 April 2010
The conference aims to re-examine received ways of understanding finance and to consider what changes to financial arrangement may follow from present strains.

Call for Paper (SGIR 7th Pan-European Conference on IR)
Stockholm, Sweden, 2010
SGIR Section: Another Europe is Possible?
SGIR Section: Critical IPE
SGIR Section: Eastern Europe
SGIR Section: The Return of the State

Historical Materialism Conference: Call For Papers
York University, Toronto
May 13-16, 2010

Papers presented in the third IIPPE International Research Workshop are available.
See Conferences and Meetings for more information.