Our main focus is the politics that underpin contemporary globalization. We explore how macro-level processes such as market creation, state transformation and the diffusion of new governance models shape, and are shaped by, the strategies and capacities of different actors to advance their economic and political interests. In addressing these broader issues, our research spans a broad range of topics, most importantly the creation and development of regulatory agencies, the adoption and implementation of public policies and the rise of new mechanisms of international governance.

The cluster includes scholars with training in political science, international relations, law and economics. The substantive research by our group members investigates antitrust initiatives and the regulation of electricity and finance markets, and analyses international governance through the lens of conditionality policies, transparency measures, and crisis management. Other focal points include the intersection between globalization and environmental policy making, the regional diffusion of new social policy models (e.g., health, education), and the role of interest groups in multilevel systems of government. In pursuit of this research, group members draw on a variety of different methodologies, including quantitative and qualitative techniques, and compare countries and/or subnational units across a range of different world regions, including Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.