Heikki Patomaki - Böcker

Whether we talk about human learning and unlearning, securitization, or political economy, the forces and mechanisms generating both globalization and disintegration are causally efficacious across the world. Thus, the processes that led to the victory of the ‘Leave’ campaign in the June 2016 referendum on UK European Union membership are not simply confined to the United Kingdom, or even Europe. Similarly, conflict in Ukraine and the presidency of Donald Trump hold implications for a stage much wider than EU-Russia or the United States alone.Patomäki explores the world-historical mechanisms and processes that have created the conditions for the world’s current predicaments and, arguably, involve potential for better futures. Operationally, he relies on the philosophy of dialectical critical realism and on the methods of contemporary social sciences, exploring how crises, learning and politics are interwoven through uneven wealth-accumulation and problematical growth-dynamics. Seeking to illuminate the causes of the currently prevailing tendencies towards disintegration, antagonism and – ultimately – war, he also shows how these developments are in fact embedded in deeper processes of human learning. The book embraces a Wellsian warning about the increasingly likely possibility of a military disaster, but its central objective is to further enlightenment and holoreflexivity within the current world-historical conjuncture. This work will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, peace research, security studies and international political economy.

Brexit means Brexit and other meaningless mantras have simply confirmed that confusion and uncertainty have dominated the early stages of this era defining event. Though there has been a lack of coherent and substantive policy goals from the UK government, this does not prevent analysis of the various causes of Brexit and the likely constraints on and consequences of the various forms Brexit might take. Is Brexit a last gasp of neoliberalism in decline? Is it a signal of the demise of the EU? Is it possible that the UK electorate will get what they thought they voted for (and what was that)? Will a populist agenda run foul of economic and political reality? What chance for the UK of a brave new world of bespoke trade treaties straddling a post-geography world? Is the UK set to become a Singapore-lite tax haven? What is the difference between a UK-centric and a UK-centred point of view on Brexit? Will Brexit augment disintegrative tendencies in the European and world economy? These are some of the questions explored in this timely set of essays penned by some of the best known names in political economy and international political economy. The chapters in this book originally published as a special issue in Globalizations.

Whether we talk about human learning and unlearning, securitization, or political economy, the forces and mechanisms generating both globalization and disintegration are causally efficacious across the world. Thus, the processes that led to the victory of the ‘Leave’ campaign in the June 2016 referendum on UK European Union membership are not simply confined to the United Kingdom, or even Europe. Similarly, conflict in Ukraine and the presidency of Donald Trump hold implications for a stage much wider than EU-Russia or the United States alone.Patomäki explores the world-historical mechanisms and processes that have created the conditions for the world’s current predicaments and, arguably, involve potential for better futures. Operationally, he relies on the philosophy of dialectical critical realism and on the methods of contemporary social sciences, exploring how crises, learning and politics are interwoven through uneven wealth-accumulation and problematical growth-dynamics. Seeking to illuminate the causes of the currently prevailing tendencies towards disintegration, antagonism and – ultimately – war, he also shows how these developments are in fact embedded in deeper processes of human learning. The book embraces a Wellsian warning about the increasingly likely possibility of a military disaster, but its central objective is to further enlightenment and holoreflexivity within the current world-historical conjuncture. This work will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, peace research, security studies and international political economy.

Brexit means Brexit and other meaningless mantras have simply confirmed that confusion and uncertainty have dominated the early stages of this era defining event. Though there has been a lack of coherent and substantive policy goals from the UK government, this does not prevent analysis of the various causes of Brexit and the likely constraints on and consequences of the various forms Brexit might take. Is Brexit a last gasp of neoliberalism in decline? Is it a signal of the demise of the EU? Is it possible that the UK electorate will get what they thought they voted for (and what was that)? Will a populist agenda run foul of economic and political reality? What chance for the UK of a brave new world of bespoke trade treaties straddling a post-geography world? Is the UK set to become a Singapore-lite tax haven? What is the difference between a UK-centric and a UK-centred point of view on Brexit? Will Brexit augment disintegrative tendencies in the European and world economy? These are some of the questions explored in this timely set of essays penned by some of the best known names in political economy and international political economy. The chapters in this book originally published as a special issue in Globalizations.

The Trump II administration's trade wars and framing of the dollar's reserve status have accelerated concerns about the sustainability of the current monetary and trade system. Against a backdrop of various disintegrative tendencies, this volume re-introduces the concept of International Clearing Union (ICU) and offers an important overview of critical approaches to the prevailing monetary system.The ICU concept is closely associated with J. M. Keynes but has older origins, diverse sources of debate, and a high degree of contemporary relevance. In discussing the concept this volume examines key contemporary political issues including principles of fairness in trade and finance, de-dollarization, development, exchange rate policy, capital controls, as well as urgent issues of climate emergency and ecological breakdown. It provides perspectives from different disciplines and from the Global North and South and opens up debate regarding new global institutional possibilities.The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The Finnish Research Council.

Offering an excellent overview of critical approaches to international payment systems, this open access volume re-introduces the contemporary relevance, origins and aims of the International Clearing Union (ICU), a concept associated with J. M. Keynes and with debates of continued contemporary importance to global political economy. This volume focuses on how ICU proposals interact with economic theory and normative principles of ethics and politics. It examines key contemporary political issues including de-dollarisation, development, overcoming nationalism, principles of fairness in trade and finance, commodity pricing, fixed vs. floating exchange rates, capital controls, the need for planning, and global public investments, as well as urgent issues of climate emergency and ecological breakdown. As such, this important volume provides a wide range of perspectives from both the Global North and Global South, as well as from different disciplines including politics, economics and political theory.‘The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The University of Helsinki.

The last couple of years have seen the eurozone lurch from crisis to calamity. With Greece, Portugal and Ireland already driven to the brink of economic catastrophe, and the threat that a number of other EU countries are soon to follow, the consequences for the global economy are potentially dire.In The Great Eurozone Disaster, Heikki Patomäki dissects the current crisis, revealing its origins lie in the instability that has driven the process of financialisation since the early 1970s. Furthermore, the public debt crises in the European deficit countries have been aggravated rather than alleviated by the responses of the Commission and leaders of the surplus countries, especially Germany.Providing a captivating narrative about how Europe ended up in its present predicament, Patomäki presents a radical new vision for 'global economic democracy' as the only viable way out of the current crisis.

The last couple of years have seen the eurozone lurch from crisis to calamity. With Greece, Portugal and Ireland already driven to the brink of economic catastrophe, and the threat that a number of other EU countries are soon to follow, the consequences for the global economy are potentially dire.In The Great Eurozone Disaster, Heikki Patomäki dissects the current crisis, revealing its origins lie in the instability that has driven the process of financialisation since the early 1970s. Furthermore, the public debt crises in the European deficit countries have been aggravated rather than alleviated by the responses of the Commission and leaders of the surplus countries, especially Germany.Providing a captivating narrative about how Europe ended up in its present predicament, Patomäki presents a radical new vision for 'global economic democracy' as the only viable way out of the current crisis.

As globalization proceeds apace international law, and the scope and powers of international institutions - the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization - continue to grow. If democratic values are still an aspiration of the 21st century, then their deficit at international level must be addressed. Patomaki and Teiveinen survey the range of proposals now on the table. Ruling nothing out, they emphasis feasibility. While democratic advances do not come without political mobilization, there is little point mobilizing people for the utopian and unrealizable.This informative, thought-provoking book will be of use both to students of International Relations and Political Science, and also to campaigners concerned with the existing inequitable and unaccountable international arrangements.