International Political Economy at PAIR
The Politics and International Relations Division has recently appointed several new scholars broadly located in the field of International Political Economy. Covering a wide range of empirical and theoretical research interests, these appointments now make Southampton a strong force in this fast-growing sub-discipline.
In September 2009, Dr Bona Muzaka joined as Lecturer in Global Politics after having completed her PhD at the University of Sheffield in 2008 and spending some time there as a teaching fellow. Her research interests are primarily in global political economy and global governance. Bona’s recent work focuses on issues of intellectual property rights, trade rules and access to medicines, as well as those relating to the role of non-state actors in shaping the form and content of the global regulatory regimes that govern these areas.
Also in September 2009, Dr Pia Riggirozzi joined, initially as a Teaching Fellow and now as Lecturer in Global Politics. This followed positions as an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow and subsequently as a research fellow at the University of Sheffield. Pia’s research interests are largely in the areas of global governance and international institutions, and she has a particular focus on the political economy of the Americas. Her current work is on regionalism in Latin America, where she is attempting to re-examine the various agreements, dynamics and constellations of actors, interests and power resources in the search for governance after neo-liberalism.
In March 2010, PAIR made two further appointments at Lecturer level. Firstly, Dr Lena Rethel, who gained her PhD at the University of Warwick and went on to teach at Warwick as well as Birmingham and Oxford Brookes Universities. Lena's current research is on the relationship between financial system change and development and the emergence of Islamic finance. More generally, Lena is interested in international political economy; global finance and development; Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia; and Islamic finance.
Finally, Dr Christopher Holmes joined after completing his PhD in political economy at the University of Warwick. His research interests revolve around understanding the relationship between ideas and economic behaviour, including special interests in the work of Karl Polanyi. His empirical interests lie principally in the political economy of finance and in environmental politics and economics.